Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minnesota Becomes Latest State To Sue Over Vaping Epidemic: 'Juul Has Turned A Generation Of Youth Into Addicts'
The Associated Press: Minnesota Sues E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Youth Vaping Rise
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Juul Labs on Wednesday, accusing the e-cigarette maker of unlawfully targeting young people with its products to get a new generation addicted to nicotine. The lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis seeks to force Juul to stop marketing to young people; fund a corrective public education campaign in Minnesota on the dangers of youth vaping; fund vaping cessation programs; disclose all its research on vaping and health; and surrender all profits from its allegedly unlawful conduct. (Karnowski, 12/4)
The Hill: Minnesota Sues Juul Over Rise In Youth Vaping
“It is clear that JUUL has turned a generation of youth into addicts,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court Wednesday. (Klar, 12/4)
MPR: Minnesota Suing Juul For 'Targeting Youth' In E-Cig Marketing
The lawsuit seeks to declare that Juul created a public health nuisance with its vaping products. Ellison wants the court to order the company to stop its marketing to kids and fund corrective public education to help people stop vaping. Juul contends that its vaping products are a healthier alternative to smokers trying to quit combustible cigarettes. (Pugmire, 12/4)
CNN: There Are Now Vaping-Related Lung Injury Cases In All 50 States
A teen from Southeast Alaska is the state's first case of vaping-related lung injury, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. There have now been cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury reported in all 50 states. The department announced on Tuesday that the teen is hospitalized but improving. The patient reported regularly vaping nicotine and products containing tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the main psychoactive substance in cannabis. (Howard, 12/4)
The Hill: Alaska Reports First Vaping-Related Injury
“Our thoughts are with the patient and family members and we are thankful the patient is steadily recovering,” Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “We are fortunate that we haven’t identified a case ... in Alaska until now, but it’s not surprising that we have joined the rest of the nation in this outbreak,” she added. (Klar, 12/4)
Bloomberg: Vaping Linked To Rare Type Of Lung Damage In Medical Report
Vaping, already under scrutiny for health risks and deaths, was linked to a rare type of lung damage in a new case report. Doctors investigating a patient’s breathing difficulties found damage that appears similar to an occupational health hazard, called hard-metal pneumoconiosis. The condition typically strikes workers involved in sharpening or polishing metal tools, physicians from the University of California, San Francisco wrote in a case history published in the European Respiratory Journal. (Fourcade, 12/4)
Boston Globe: Mass. Banned Vape Sales More Than Two Months Ago. And Now Business In N.H. And Maine Is Booming
The cars with Massachusetts license plates pull into gas stations and vape shops here steadily every day, the people inside them ready to stock up on electronic cigarettes they can’t buy at home. Along the border in New Hampshire and Maine, sales of nicotine and cannabis vaping products have boomed since Sept. 24, when Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker banned both amid an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries. (Martin, 12/4)
