https://vaping360.com/vape-news/82975/is-the-wisconsin-lung-disease-outbreak-really-about-vaping
7 August 2019
Health officials in Wisconsin are grappling with an outbreak of severe lung ailments that may be related to vaping. Or they may not be related to vaping. Unfortunately, in their desire to avoid additional cases—and their zeal to prove their anti-vaping bonafides—the Wisconsin authorities have created a panic that will be counterproductive to public health.
Here’s the story so far:
On July 25, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) issued a memo to healthcare providers and local and tribal health agencies warning of a lung disease cluster in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties. It described eight cases of unexplained pulmonary disease among adolescents that were being investigated. The memo was straightforward and sensible, explaining what the DHS knew and what it didn’t know.
“All patients reported vaping in the weeks and months prior to hospital admission,” said the memo, from Dr. Jonathan Meiman, an epidemiologist. “The names and types of products used remain unknown, and patient interviews are ongoing. Clinicians are encouraged to remain alert for potential cases among persons presenting with progressive respiratory symptoms who report a history of inhalation drug use, particularly vaping.”
“Inhalation drug use” is not typically a phrase used to describe regular vaping of nicotine (or zero-nicotine) e-liquid. That seems to indicate that the DHS officials already suspected that the kids were using something other than standard vaping products.
That same day, Fox 6 News in Burlington, Wisconsin reported that a man in his mid-twenties had been hospitalized some days earlier for what was first thought to be pneumonia, but rapidly progressed, damaging both his lungs and heart. He had been placed in a medically induced coma and his prognosis was uncertain.
Burlington is about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
The man’s brother said he had vaped what he called T.. cartridges, sold on the street.
By the time the press got hold of the DHS announcement, the anti-vaping train was already steaming down the track. Only one of the original eight teens was still in the hospital when the warning went out, but the Wisconsin “disease detectives” still hadn’t isolated the exact source of their lung injuries. However, most of the “experts” quoted in the barrage of news stories that followed were more than happy to guess.
The Wisconsin American Lung Association issued a statement that said, “e-cigarette use is NOT safe, especially by youth whose lungs are still developing. E-cigarettes contain chemicals, heavy metals and fine particulates. The candy and fruit-flavorings that so many youth find appealing also contain chemicals known to cause irreparable lung damage.”
7 August 2019
Health officials in Wisconsin are grappling with an outbreak of severe lung ailments that may be related to vaping. Or they may not be related to vaping. Unfortunately, in their desire to avoid additional cases—and their zeal to prove their anti-vaping bonafides—the Wisconsin authorities have created a panic that will be counterproductive to public health.
Here’s the story so far:
On July 25, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) issued a memo to healthcare providers and local and tribal health agencies warning of a lung disease cluster in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties. It described eight cases of unexplained pulmonary disease among adolescents that were being investigated. The memo was straightforward and sensible, explaining what the DHS knew and what it didn’t know.
“All patients reported vaping in the weeks and months prior to hospital admission,” said the memo, from Dr. Jonathan Meiman, an epidemiologist. “The names and types of products used remain unknown, and patient interviews are ongoing. Clinicians are encouraged to remain alert for potential cases among persons presenting with progressive respiratory symptoms who report a history of inhalation drug use, particularly vaping.”
“Inhalation drug use” is not typically a phrase used to describe regular vaping of nicotine (or zero-nicotine) e-liquid. That seems to indicate that the DHS officials already suspected that the kids were using something other than standard vaping products.
That same day, Fox 6 News in Burlington, Wisconsin reported that a man in his mid-twenties had been hospitalized some days earlier for what was first thought to be pneumonia, but rapidly progressed, damaging both his lungs and heart. He had been placed in a medically induced coma and his prognosis was uncertain.
Burlington is about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
The man’s brother said he had vaped what he called T.. cartridges, sold on the street.
By the time the press got hold of the DHS announcement, the anti-vaping train was already steaming down the track. Only one of the original eight teens was still in the hospital when the warning went out, but the Wisconsin “disease detectives” still hadn’t isolated the exact source of their lung injuries. However, most of the “experts” quoted in the barrage of news stories that followed were more than happy to guess.
The Wisconsin American Lung Association issued a statement that said, “e-cigarette use is NOT safe, especially by youth whose lungs are still developing. E-cigarettes contain chemicals, heavy metals and fine particulates. The candy and fruit-flavorings that so many youth find appealing also contain chemicals known to cause irreparable lung damage.”
