Vaping-Related Lung Illness Has Claimed Four Lives in the United States

Foreign media outlet Techspot reports that e-cigarettes are often considered a safer and healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. This is one of the reasons why e-cigarettes (devices such as Juul) are becoming increasingly popular among teens and other underage users. Unfortunately, the U.S. has recently seen a number of cases of e-cigarette-related lung disease.
 
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been studying a serious and mysterious lung disease that is apparently caused by e-cigarettes. While it's not cancer, it's proving to be just as dangerous. The disease has already claimed the lives of four U.S. citizens, the New York Times reported Friday. The latter two victims were from Indiana and Minnesota.

Officials believe the cause of the disease may be a specific chemical, but they have not yet determined exactly what that chemical may be. One of the more likely culprits, however, is a compound called “vitamin E acetate” that has been found in eight different cases in New York.
 
There's another mixture of chemicals that can lead to this dilemma: substances that some patients report “being derived from marijuana”. According to Harvard University's Dr. David Christiani, these substances (including THC) combined with chemicals found in regular e-cigarette liquids could create dangerous “new toxins”.

Investigators are also looking at the potential link between the disease and counterfeit or contaminated e-cigarette liquids (and devices) purchased on the street.The CDC recommends that members of the public who use e-cigarettes avoid purchasing these products. The number of patients potentially affected by the disease has recently doubled, totaling about 450 suspected cases. The vast majority (more than 80 percent) of patients affected by the disease are male, with an average age of 19.

“We are committed to finding out what makes people sick,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a statement. “All available information is being carefully analyzed, and these preliminary findings are helping us narrow the focus of our investigation and bringing us closer to the answers we need to save lives. ”

The CDC is recommending that the public stop using their e-cigarette devices; at least until the panel's investigation concludes.