State Health Officials Warn Against Vaping Following Reports Of Unknown Lung Disease

WUNC | By Elizabeth Friend

Published August 19, 2019 at 2:57 PM EDT

The number of high schoolers using emerging tobacco products like e-cigarettes remains on the rise, and nearly a quarter of high schoolers say they would consider trying e-cigarettes in the next year.

Federal and state health officials warn vaping may be linked to a recent spate of hospitalizations to treat severe lung disease.

State health officials are investigating a series of hospitalizations possibly related to vaping. Three patients in North Carolina have been treated for a severe lung illness since July.

In each case, patients reported vaping or using e-cigarettes in the weeks before they were admitted, according to Zack Moore, an epidemiologist with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

"So far there has not been any specific product, or device, or type of vaping fluid that's been linked to these cases, and that's one big reason why we're asking for physicians to report these cases so we can gather better information,” said Moore.

Nearly 100 cases have been recorded across the country. The Centers for Disease Control report patients in at least fourteen states have been treated for shortness of breath, fever, coughing, nausea and vomiting. In some instances, patients required intensive care or ventilator support. No cause has yet been determined, but health officials say recent vaping or e-cigarette use is a common denominator.

Moore and others are urging the public to cease use of all vaping products while health officials investigate.

“This really just highlights some of the potentially severe health risks that can come from vaping,” he said. “Our advice is to avoid vaping and e-cigarettes.”