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A California man has become the seventh person to die from vaping-related illness as the United States grapples with the ongoing public health crisis. Federal health officials confirmed vaping-related lung injuries in 450 possible cases in 33 states, with most hospitalizations following people consuming black market, counterfeit THC cartridges sold as real.
As early as April, reports of lung diseases tied to vaping first popped up in Illinois. Since then, two people have died in California, one in Los Angeles County and the other in Tulare County. At least 15 people have been hospitalized in the Los Angeles area, according to the county’s public health department. Two-thirds of those cases were vapers age 25 and younger.
Early research out of New York suggests the illness could be linked to vape liquids with added vitamin E acetate, a chemical generally considered safe to swallow, but not to inhale. A vape heats the vtiamin E acetate hot enough to make it a breathable gas. But health officials say the vitamin turns back into fat molecules once it cools in the lung. That can lead to lipid pneumonia, a rare and dangerous lung condition.
Authentic and counterfeit THC vaporizer cartridge manufacturers may be using vitamin E acetate to thicken vaping liquid so it can be sold as a higher quality, higher priced product than it is, according to a report by Leafly.
San Francisco became the first city in the state to outlaw the sale of e-cigarettes, followed by Sacramento and earlier this week, Richmond. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order directing California health officials to spend $20 million generated by tobacco and cannabis taxes to warn the public about the dangers of vaping and to crack down on the illicit market. Newsom added the state is also eyeing new product warnings and taxes on vape products.
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