Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'It's The Athletes. It's The Nerds. It's Everybody': Vaping Is A Culture For Teens, Which Can Make Addiction Harder To Break
NPR: High School Vape Culture Can Be Almost As Hard To Shake As Addiction, Teens Say
When Will tried his first vape during his sophomore year, he didn't know what to expect. It was just something he had vaguely heard about at school. "I just sort of remember using it a bunch of times, like in a row," he says. "And there's this huge buzz-sensation-like head rush. And I just ... didn't really stop." Will kept vaping nicotine addictively for the next year and a half. He was part of a trend. Teens' use of e-cigarettes has doubled since 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, with 1 in 4 high school seniors reporting use of a vape in the past month. (Yu, 10/14)
CNN: Vaping Is Increasing Among Younger People -- But Not So For Older Adults, Study Says
Vaping, often described as an "epidemic" in middle and high schools, was not significantly different among adults in the United States in 2014 vs. 2018, according to survey results published Monday. However, those numbers had been declining from 2014 to 2017, preceding an uptick largely attributable to the increasing popularity of vaping among 18- to 24-year-olds. In that age group, prevalence of e-cigarette use rose from 5.2% in 2017 to 7.6% in 2018. (Nedelman, 10/14)
Reuters: Vaping Illness, Deaths Likely Very Rare Beyond U.S., Experts Say
E-cigarette or vaping-linked lung injuries that have killed 29 and sickened more than 1,000 people in the United States are likely to be rare in Britain and other countries where the suspect products are not widely used, specialists said on Monday. Experts in toxicology and addiction said they are sure that the 1,299 confirmed and probable American cases of serious lung injuries linked to vaping are "a U.S.-specific phenomenon," and there is no evidence of a similar pattern of illness in Britain or elsewhere. (Kelland, 10/14)
The New York Times: How Investigators Could Pursue A Case Against Juul
The rise of vaping-related illnesses and deaths has put Juul squarely in the government's sights. Juul has dominated the e-cigarette market in the United States through its sales of flavored nicotine products. Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have banned sales of flavored e-cigarettes, while a similar move by New York was temporarily blocked by a court. The Trump administration also has announced that it wants to keep flavored e-cigarettes away from teenagers. (Henning, 10/14)
The Hill: Former Top Trump Health Official Says THC Vaping Should Be Banned
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Monday called for banning THC-based vaping products, as lung injuries tied to vaping have sickened more than a thousand people in the U.S. “Hardware marketed explicitly for vaping THC oils helped popularize consumption through vaping. This vaping has dangerous consequences and should be prohibited,” Gottlieb, who stepped down in April, said on Twitter. (Weixel, 10/14)
CNBC: Ex-FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb 'Skeptical' That Vaping Causes Lung Cancer
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC he isn’t convinced that vaping nicotine is carcinogenic, calling out a study that pointed toward the opposite conclusion. “I’m skeptical that nicotine causes cancer,” Gottlieb, a trained physician, said Monday on “Squawk Box.” “It might be a tumor promoter, [researchers] have said that there’s a potential that nicotine is a tumor promoter, but it doesn’t cause cancer.” (Bursztynsky, 10/14)
The Star Tribune: Minnesota Is Trying To Rule Out Medical Pot In Vaping Lung-Injury Outbreak
At least two Minnesotans using legal medical cannabis have suffered vaping-related lung injuries, but health officials aren't blaming legal pot or limiting access to state-sanctioned products because those users also vaped illicit products containing THC. While all vaping-related lung injuries are checked to see if the patients are on the state's medical cannabis registry, most cases involved patients who used illicit forms of THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, epidemiologist for the Minnesota Department of Health. (Olson, 10/14)
