No Single E-Cig Brand Linked To Vaping-Related Lung Injuries, CDC Says
(CBS/CNN) -- No single product or brand is responsible for the thousands of vaping-related lung illnesses reported across the United States, according to a report released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Nationally, Dank Vapes were the most commonly reported THC-containing product by hospitalized EVALI patients, but a wide variety of products were reported, with regional differences," the CDC said in its report. The agency uses the term EVALI as shorthand for "e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury."
While the CDC report also suggested the outbreak of illnesses may have peaked in September, it is still recommending that users avoid vaping any products that contain THC, "especially those acquired from informal sources like friends, family members, or in-person or online dealers."
Although investigators have linked vitamin E acetate, a thickener used in some vaping products, to many of the lung injuries, the CDC said in its latest report that "many substances and product sources are being investigated, and there might be more than one cause."
The agency on Thursday reported 2,291 confirmed cases of lung injury in the US related to vaping as of December 4 across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The CDC has also reported 48 confirmed death in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
The announcement comes in the wake of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health linking six cases of vaping-related lung illness to state-licensed marijuana dispensaries.
It is also just days before Gov. Baker's ban on the sale of vaping products will be lifted.
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