A 16-year-old girl from Central Visayas is the country’s first known victim of lung injury caused by electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), or vaping, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the first recorded e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (Evali) patient was not asthmatic but had been using an e-cigarette daily for four months since March. The patient was brought to an undisclosed hospital after she had a “sudden onset of difficulty of breathing,” he said. The DOH said that she “met the case criteria for Evali” based on guidelines provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC has recorded at least 2,172 cases of lung injuries and 42 deaths associated with e-cigarettes and vaping.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 15, 2019 21:22 UTC