The culprit wasn’t an infectious disease, but a poison: THC vaping devices sold on the black market that were filled with oily contaminants that suffocated and burned victims’ lungs once inhaled. How did it play into a still contentious debate over the health risks of vaping and the need for regulation? By then, it was obvious that electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes—a term used for nicotine-based vaping products sold legally—had no substantial role in the poisonings. But even some researchers and public health experts have worried about the conflation of these other real concerns with VAPI/EVALI. Scientists have found other chemicals in (largely illicit) vaping products and flavorings that could plausibly cause the same sort of lung damage seen in victims, such as squalene, as has Leafly.

Source: The Nation November 25, 2020 19:00 UTC