Another Study Links Vaping Injuries to Vitamin E Acetate
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] new study published on Feb. 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nearly 90 percent of people who suffered lung injuries from vaping last year used cannabis vape products. The research also indicated that vitamin E acetate was found in the vast majority of lung illness cases.
Researchers collected bronchoalveolar-lavage (BAL) samples from 99 participants in an ongoing study of smoking involving nonsmokers, exclusive users of e-cigarettes or vaping products, and exclusive cigarette smokers that began in 2015. Researchers used tests to measure toxins and other oils and distillates commonly used in e-liquids. The results found vitamin E acetate was present in all 51 cases of patients that reported use of an e-cigarette or vape product that experienced a lung illness or injury.
Since last August, there have been more than 2,800 cases of e-cigarette or vaping lung disease (EVALI), resulting in 68 deaths. The Centers for Diseases Control previously named vitamin E acetate as the main factor in the series of vape-related lung illnesses. Animal studies on vitamin E acetate found that lung injury was found in mice after vitamin E acetate aerosols were inhaled.
“We show conclusively that when vaped, vitamin E acetate, which is often used as a cutting agent in e-cigarette liquids containing THC, can reach the lung and cause severe damage,” said Yasmin Thanavala, a professor of immunology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. “The best way for persons to ensure that they are not at risk,” the researchers say, “is to consider refraining from the use of all e-cigarette, or vaping, products.”
In California, officials tested 10,000 seized illegal vape cartridges and found 75 percent of the seized cartridges tested positive for vitamin E acetate. Officials also found nearly all of the illegal cartridges were less potent than advertised.
