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U.S. health officials are

looking closely at vitamin E

acetate as a potential cause

of the severe lung injuries

that have sickened thou-

sands of Americans who

have used vaping devices,

including more than three

dozen who have died as a

result.

A study of fluid taken

from the lungs of 29 patients

found all of them had signs

of vitamin E acetate, ac-

cording to a report from the

U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention on

Friday.

Vitamin E acetate is a

thick and gummy syrup,

similar in consistency to

honey, that some illegal

makers of vaping liquids use

to dilute their product in

order to reduce the amount

of active ingredients they

need to add.

“These new findings are

significant,” said Anne

Schuchat, principal deputy

director of the CDC, in a

conference call, declaring

the discovery a break-

through in the investiga-

tion. “For the first time, we

have identified a potential

toxin of concern, in biologic

samples. These findings

provide direct evidence of

vitamin E acetate at the

primary site of injury.”

Vitamin E acetate is

widely used in food and

skin-care products, where it

is safe, Schuchat said. There

is a distinct difference,

however, between inhaling

something and swallowing

it. Previous studies have

found that when vitamin E

acetate is inhaled, it may

affect lung function, she

said. New York state offi-

cials identified it as a pos-

sible culprit in September.

The number of Ameri-

cans sickened in the out-

break of vaping-related lung

injuries has been steadily

increasing. As of Nov. 5,

there were 2,051 cases re-

ported in 49 states, the

District of Columbia and

one U.S. territory, the CDC

said on Thursday, with 39

confirmed deaths.

Regulators had signaled

in recent weeks that the

outbreak was likely tied to

the use of black-market

vaping products containing

THC, the pyschoactive

ingredient in marijuana,

though they hadn’t drawn a

direct link to any one prod-

uct, behavior or ingredient.

The CDC has said that in a

small percentage of cases,

patients had reported using

nicotine-only products.

There are hundreds of

devices and ingredients at

play in the vaping market,

and not all are legal, which

has made identifying the

source of the outbreak

much more difficult.

The rash of illnesses

has coincided with increas-

ing alarm about teenagers’

use of e-cigarettes and

vaping devices. According

to the 2019 National Youth

Tobacco Survey, about 4.

million high school students

and 1.2 million middle

school students will have

used vaping products at

some point this year.

Cortez writes for

Bloomberg.

BACK STORY

Vitamin E may be culprit in

rash of vaping lung injuries

Some manufacturers are illegally using the syrupy acetate, officials say

By Michelle Fay Cortez

SOME OF THEcannabis vaping products that contain vitamin E acetate, a focus

of the investigation into pulmonary illnesses from vaping.

Mike WrenNew York State Department of Health

AS OF TUESDAY,2,051 cases of vaping-related lung damage and 39 deaths had been reported in the U.S.

Nam Y. HuhAssociated Press