12 Time November 25, 2019
TheBrief News
Since The U.S. cenTerS for DiSeaSe
Control and Prevention (CDC) first an-
nounced an outbreak of vaping- related lung
diseases in August, the agency has faithfully
provided updates as the number of people
diagnosed with these illnesses ticks up and
up, totaling 2,051 sicknesses and 39 deaths as
of Nov. 5. But those reports have come with
frustratingly few clues as to why vapers are
getting sick and dying—until a breakthrough
this month.
“For the first time,” CDC principal deputy
director Dr. Anne Schuchat said on a Nov. 8
call with reporters, “we have detected a po-
tential toxin of concern: vitamin-E acetate.”
The CDC previously found that most pa-
tients vaped products containing the mari-
juana compound THC, but it wasn’t clear
why these formulas were making people sick.
Oily vitamin-E acetate, which is sometimes
added to cannabis vaping solutions to dilute
their THC content, may be the—or at least
an— answer. The CDC tested lung fluid from
29 people with EVALI, the agency’s abbrevia-
tion for “e-cigarette or vaping product use–
associated lung injury,” and vitamin-E acetate
turned up in every single sample; other sus-
pected substances, such as mineral and plant
oils, weren’t found in any. THC was detected
in 82% of the samples, and nicotine appeared
in 61%, which suggests many people are usingCULTURE
Poll trolls
On Nov. 11, the Guardian Australia canceled 4,000 ballots, mostly for
the cockatoo, in its Bird of the Year poll, citing “significant” voter fraud.
Here, more dubious democracy. —Ciara NugentVIRAL VOYAGE
Rapper Pitbull
agreed in 2012
to perform at the
Walmart with the
most Facebook
likes. Over 70,
people liked the
store in Kodiak,
an Alaskan town
of 6,000, in a viral
campaign to “exile”
the rapper. He
honored the result.BOAT BALLOT
A British research
council asked the
public to help name
a polar vessel in- Though the
vote was R.R.S.the ship is now
named after
broadcaster David
Attenborough.RUSSIAN MEDLEY
Russian talent
show The Voice Kids
annulled the result
of its May 2019
final, won by
the daughter
of a wealthy
businessman, after
the broadcaster
spotted thousands
of fraudulent
automated votes.NEWS
TICKER
Wildfires rage
across eastern
AustraliaMore than a million
hectares of bushfires
were burning in New
South Wales and
Queensland, Australia,
as of Nov. 12, as
high winds drove
flames across the dry
landscape. At least
three people were
confirmed dead and
178 homes destroyed,
as firefighters warned
the worst was to come.Nike to
investigate
abuse claimsSportswear company
Nike said Nov. 8 that it
will launch an inquiry
into claims of physical
and emotional abuse
at its now shuttered
Oregon Project. Runner
Mary Cain alleged in
the New York Times
that she suffered
broken bones because
pressure to lose
weight compromised
her health.Israel kills top
Palestinian
militantAt least 23 people
were killed in Gaza
during cross-border
exchanges of fire
after a Nov. 12 Israeli
airstrike killed Baha
Abu al-Ata, a senior
member of the militant
group Palestinian
Islamic Jihad. The
group receives training
and funds from Iran.
Al-Ata’s wife was also
killed, and two of
their children were
reportedly injured.both. Some EVALI patients, however, have
reported using only nicotine, which leaves
open the possibility that some non-THC for-
mulas could be contaminated.
Vitamin-E acetate is commonly and safely
used in dietary supplements and beauty
products. Inhaling vitamin-E acetate, how-
ever, seems to be very different from ingest-
ing or topically absorbing it. More research is
needed to determine exactly how the additive
could be causing harm, Schuchat said, but oil
inhalation may contribute to the pneumonia-
like symptoms reported by EVALI patients,
such as shortness of breath, coughing and—
in serious cases—fatal lung injury.
Despite the breakthrough, the CDC’s in-
vestigation isn’t over. The 29 samples tested
represent fewer than 2% of the people who
have gotten sick, and the CDC warns that
multiple chemicals may be to blame for ill-
nesses. Irina Stepanov, an associate profes-
sor at the University of Minnesota’s School
of Public Health, adds that people use vaping
products in varied quantities, durations and
combinations, and answers may lie some-
where within that complicated matrix. “I
don’t think we are ready yet to say that this is
the only reason people get sick,” she says.
The CDC urges Americans to avoid THC
vaping products, particularly those pur-
chased on the street or from unknown
sources. Young people— including the nearly
30% of American high schoolers who vape—
should never use e-cigarettes, the agency
adds. With so many questions outstanding,
the EVALI outbreak is far from solved.
—jamie DUcharmeGOOD QUESTION
Has the CDC finally
figured out what’s
making vapers sick?