Local officials say the state health department has confirmed the 10th case of Ventura County lung injury associated with the use of e-cigarette or vaping products.
The condition has become so prevalent it now goes by EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping associating lung injury) for short. It is sometimes mistaken for pneumonia, according to a statement released last week by Ventura County Public Health. The cases may be preceded or accompanied by fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. All of the cases failed to respond to an initial course of antibiotic treatment, county health officials said.
Patients have been admitted to the hospital for respiratory support, including oxygen and, in some cases, intubation with mechanical ventilation, according to the statement. Many patients have improved with steroids, although some have not regained completely normal lung function, the county said.
As new laws are considered on the state and federal level, several agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration— are working to identify the cause of the sudden outbreak of vaping-related injuries.
At least one media outlet has linked the outbreak to oils produced in China.
The CDC is recommending that people not buy any type of vaping products, particularly those containing THC, from friends, family or online dealers, nor modify or add any substances to e-cigarettes that are not intended by the manufacturer, including products purchased through retail establishments.
All patients being evaluated for severe respiratory distress by the CDC reported vaping in the weeks before being admitted to a hospital. No specific brand of vaping product has been implicated.
Nationally, there have been 2,290 cases of EVALI, and 47 patients have died as of Nov. 20.
The California Department of Public Health has received 166 reports of severe respiratory disease, and four deaths have been confirmed as of Nov. 19.
Beyond their concerns over the risk of serious, sudden injury, county health officials say they’re worried about e-cigarette use in general, especially among young people.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently announced that over 30% of high school students in that county reported using e-cigarette products in their lifetimes, according to data from the 2017-18 California Student Tobacco Survey and the California Healthy Kids Survey.
“I’m concerned that vaping, especially vaping products that contain nicotine, is a gateway to cigarette smoking, that it carries a risk of causing lung cancer and that there are unknown risks associated with all the different flavors and other uncontrolled substances in the vaped material,” said Dr. Robert Levin, health officer for Ventura County. “This association between vaping and EVALI makes quitting altogether the best choice.”
—Acorn staff report