Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'It Was Scary To Think ... That Little Device Did That To My Lungs': Vaping-Related Outbreak Continues To Worsen
CNN: Vaping-Related Illness Leaves Teen With Lungs Like 'a 70-Year-Old's'
Adam Hergenreder's vaping habit almost killed him. Late last month, the 18-year-old student athlete in Gurnee, Illinois, was hospitalized after using e-cigarettes for more than a year and a half. Now his lungs are similar to those of a 70-year-old adult, doctors told him. "It was scary to think about that -- that little device did that to my lungs," Adam said, remembering the news from his doctors about his lung health. (Howard and Nedelman, 9/12)
ABC News: Teen Who Was Put On Life-Support For Vaping Says 'I Didn't Think Of Myself As A Smoker'
Though she might not look like it today, Simah Herman said she was sure she was going to die last month as she sat in the car unable to breathe, her father racing her to the hospital. “I just remember feeling like absolute...nothing. Like I just couldn't do anything,” Herman, 18, said. “I couldn’t drink water. I couldn’t move. Like, I literally just wanted to crawl out of my skin.” (Hawkins, Walker, Riegle and Rivas, 9/11)
The Associated Press: Vape Death Leads Oregon To Ask Pot Shops To Review Products
Authorities in charge of Oregon's legal marijuana market said Wednesday that they will ask store owners to voluntarily review pot products on their shelves and pull any they feel might be unsafe as concern mounts about severe lung illnesses and deaths tied to vaping across the U.S. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which also regulates pot, will ask stores to put up signs warning about the potential dangers of vaping, executive director Steve Marks told The Associated Press. (Flaccus, 9/11)
Chicago Sun Times: 20 More Victims Of Mysterious Vaping Illness Reported In Illinois, Officials Say
Forty-two people in Illinois have been stricken by the sickness, officials said late Wednesday — nearly twice the previous total announced in the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified more than 450 possible cases across the country that have been attributed to both cannabis and nicotine vaping products. Following a fatality reported in Kansas Tuesday, six total deaths have been linked to the outbreak. (Schuba, 9/11)
The Baltimore Sun: Some Medical Marijuana Users In Maryland Reporting Symptoms Amid Spate Of Vaping Related Illness
Seven medical cannabis users in Maryland have come forward to report unexplained respiratory symptoms since the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission asked users and providers to alert regulators of any lung problems in light of the mounting cases of illnesses locally and nationally linked to vaping. In light of those illnesses, and a half dozen deaths across the country, the commission sent an advisory in late August to the medical marijuana community asking those who suffer unexplained symptoms to seek medical attention and report cases to the commission. (Cohn, 9/12)
The Boston Globe: Amherst Company Faces Subpoena In N.Y. Vaping Investigation
New York officials investigating a deadly vaping-related lung illness plan to subpoena records of an Amherst company, amid concerns that it is selling a potentially harmful substance thought to be fueling the national crisis. Mass Terpenes, an online business registered by an Athol man, was one of three companies nationwide hawking products shown in lab tests to be “nearly pure” vitamin E acetate oil, New York officials said. That ingredient, added to marijuana oil by illicit vape producers, is among the possible chemicals suspected of causing lung problems. (Martin and Adams, 9/11)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Courageous' Parents Are Credited With Leading To A Drug Bust Police Believe Is The Biggest To Date Involving Counterfeit Vaping Cartridges
Police are crediting the parents of a Wisconsin high school student for coming forward with information that led to a massive drug bust involving an operation that manufactured thousands of counterfeit vaping cartridges loaded with THC oil every day. ... The probe reportedly led back to two Kenosha County brothers — Tyler and Jacob Huffhines — and a major drug operation running out of a condominium in an upscale neighborhood that officials said was rented under a fake name. (Rutledge and Spicuzza, 9/11)
The San Francisco Chronicle: As Trump Vows To Halt Sale Of Flavored Vaping Products, Two More Bay Area Cities Ban E-Cigarettes
As President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to force companies to stop selling flavored vaping products, two Bay Area cities this week moved forward on legislation banning the sale of e-cigarettes altogether, regardless of flavor. (Ho, 9/11)
Florida Health News: Vaping-Linked Lung Problems Surface In Florida
The Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida told The News Service of Florida on Monday that state health officials have “received several potential reports of illness” and that the Department of Health and the Florida Poison Information Center Network are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on investigating a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease. The Department of Health declined to give the precise number of reported cases or disclose where the residents live. (Sexton, 9/11)
Minnesota Public Radio: Amazon Quietly Pulls Marijuana Vape Materials From Site After Illnesses, Deaths
Amazon has quietly removed several products that buyers could use to make counterfeit marijuana vaping devices — the same ones which, along with nicotine vapes, have been tied to hundreds of injuries and at least six deaths reported nationwide this year. The products pulled from Amazon mimicked marijuana products that are sold legally in the several U.S. states that have approved recreational cannabis. They range from packaging materials for the Exotic Carts brand of marijuana oil cartridges to bulk “California compliant” stickers indicating the object to which the labels are affixed is legal under the state’s marijuana law. (Nelson, 9/11)
California Healthline: Vaping By The Numbers
The explosive rise in a serious lung illness linked to vaping spotlights the popularity of e-cigarettes among teens and young adults — and how little is known about the devices’ safety and use. As of Tuesday, federal health officials were investigating at least 450 possible cases of the mysterious pulmonary illness across 33 states, including six cases that resulted in death. California has reported nearly 60 cases of lung illness since late June in patients with a history of vaping; one of those patients, in Los Angeles County, has died. (Rowan, 9/11)
