Poll: Most Americans Still Believe Nicotine Vapes Caused Fatal Lung Injuries

On February 12, reports from foreign media indicated that most Americans believe that recent lung injuries related to vaping are caused by nicotine e-cigarettes. This incident has resulted in 60 deaths and over 2,700 hospitalizations.

According to a recent survey, only 28% of the public understands that illegal THC cannabis vaping products are the cause of the injuries, rather than nicotine products.

The poll conducted last week surveyed 2,200 adults during the last week of January. A similar poll was conducted by Morning Consult in September last year, right at the peak of the lung injury outbreak.

Both polls have a margin of error of 2%.<\/strong>

Now, more people believe that nicotine vaping products are causing more harm to the lungs compared to last fall.

In September, 58% of respondents mistakenly believed that "e-cigarettes, like Juul" were the cause of the injuries. By January, this number had risen to 66%. The proportion correctly attributing the injuries to THC cannabis vaping products dropped from 34% to 28%.

What changed from last September to late January? The answer is clear: more people have heard and believe the false information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), either directly from the CDC or through unimportant news media reporting on the agency's findings.

The agency has never identified the additives used in illegal THC cartridges as the sole culprit for lung injuries. Vitamin E acetate is a thick, oil-soluble, tasteless substance that is very suitable for diluting cannabis oil.

Since no efficacy testing has ever been conducted on black market THC cartridges, users cannot determine whether the products they purchase are 90% pure or 50% or even less. Unethical cannabis processors double or triple their profits by reducing the oil delivered to street sellers.

But aside from one thing, it was perfect: inhaling vaporized vitamin E acetate can kill you.

Even before Leafly first reported on the presence of vitamin E acetate in black market THC cartridges on August 30, there was ample evidence that the outbreak of lung diseases was caused by something in black market THC cartridges. When Leafly's report came out, only one person had died, and 215 were hospitalized.

If the CDC had chosen to issue a warning at that time, alerting all cannabis e-cigarette users that they were risking their lives by using illegal THC cartridges, it would have been reported in every newspaper across the country, and the bad situation could have quickly dissipated.

Instead, the agency engaged in a flashy investigation, and the incidents of unsuspecting cannabis smokers continuing to get sick and die persisted for months.

The CDC deliberately avoided using the actual terms that cannabis oil users use to describe the products causing lung injuries. Instead, the health authority suggested in its press releases that nicotine vaping products should be at least partially responsible, misleading the public and continuing to do so.

Indeed, the agency has been fully committed from the beginning to linking the term "e-cigarette" with the outbreak. In a health alert sent to healthcare professionals on August 30, the CDC used the term "e-cigarette" 45 times, despite no conclusive evidence that nicotine products were even one of the causes of lung injuries.
 

When CDC officials decided to give the lung injuries a unique, memorable name, they chose "e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury" ("EVALI"). The creators of this cobbled-together term deliberately placed "e-cigarette" at the front of the name.

The message is clear: e-cigarettes can kill you.

All e-cigarette users understand the term "e-cigarette" to refer only to nicotine products. Despite using similar methods for vaporization, cannabis oil and nicotine vaping devices are not interchangeable.

Cannabis oil users have never referred to their products as "e-cigarettes." THC oil vaping products are pre-filled cartridges containing 1 gram or less of viscous, honey-like cannabis oil. They are always referred to as THC cartridges, hash oil devices, or some variation of these terms.

E-cigarette devices cannot be used to vaporize cannabis oil.

Effective public health messaging requires using language that the target audience can understand. By using "e-cigarette" to describe tetrahydrocannabinol products, the CDC demonstrates that it is hardly concerned about the welfare of the direct victims of "EVALI," the cannabis consumers. By advising all smokers to stop using "e-cigarettes," the agency indicates that it is also unconcerned about the risk of millions of nicotine smokers returning to combustible cigarettes.
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The CDC is so out of touch with the real dangers that representatives and activists from the legal cannabis industry are going to great lengths to bypass federal agencies and warn cannabis smokers themselves. Leafly, Merry Jane, and Cannabis Times have all published articles warning cannabis oil smokers about the dangers of black market products.

In early October, over 800 legal cannabis companies and the National Cannabis Industry Association sent a letter to Congress requesting federal regulation of cannabis. In the face of the CDC's inaction, the advocacy organization NORML's California chapter issued its own warning to THC users. Even former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb criticized the CDC for its imprecise language and anti-e-cigarette stance.

In December last year, due to the CDC's gradual avoidance of warnings that people should avoid all e-cigarettes, the agency never explicitly identified the dangers as being due to black market THC products. The CDC has never conducted a clear, understandable information campaign aimed at benefiting the most vulnerable populations. Now, 60 people have died, and long-term or thousands of others will suffer lung damage.

Sarah Wilson from Morning Consult stated that the diseases associated with e-cigarettes initially caused great panic, but the latest conclusions have barely made a ripple in the mainstream news cycle.

However, the CDC has never truly published conclusions nor made any effort to publicly correct the record.

Instead, the CDC merely tilted the bottom of uncertainty a few degrees toward the facts and allowed information to drip out. It wasn't until January 17 that the agency released its scientists' recommendations to remove the advice regarding non-nicotine e-cigarette products.

They wrote: As the investigation continues, the CDC recommends that the best way to ensure people are not in danger is to consider avoiding all e-cigarettes or vaping products.

After months of evidence, we can only assume that the CDC's goal has always been to keep as many people away from vaping as possible. The agency has used all its resources and all its credibility to persuade users to give up e-cigarettes.

The CDC is willing to risk the lives of millions of cannabis users to achieve its goal of a nicotine-free, smoke-free society.

The CDC has deliberately conflated these two types of vaping products, which almost certainly will lead to harm and death caused by THC, which would not have happened if the agency had chosen to adopt a clear, straightforward messaging strategy. Furthermore, this confusion has led thousands, even tens of thousands of nicotine users to abandon e-cigarettes and return to combustible tobacco.

Worst of all, it is currently unclear how many of the 34 million smokers in the U.S. will continue to smoke rather than switch to e-cigarettes. According to the CDC, half of long-term smokers die prematurely, and many more suffer from serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and COPD.

Morning Consult's survey found that an incredible 74% of Americans now believe that e-cigarettes are more harmful than smoking. This number has increased by more than 50% compared to when the polling company first asked the question in June 2018.

Those who believe that vaping is as bad as smoking (if not worse) include not only the smokers themselves but also friends and family who now urge their loved ones to avoid smoking.

They do so because they believe the information from the national public health agency, the CDC.