According to data released last Monday from the CDC, deaths from the mysterious lung illness often involved products containing THC, the main stimulant found in marijuana.
Of the 19 deaths with substance use data, 63% had used THC-containing products, 84% had tried either product, 37% had used nicotine-containing products, and 16% had used nicotine-containing products only.
The deaths tend to be older than the age group affected by the disease. People over 65 account for only 2% of cases but a quarter of deaths. Of the 29 deaths analyzed, the median age was 45, and 59% were male. The youngest person to die was 17, and the oldest was 75.
A total of 36 vaping-related deaths have been confirmed in 24 states and Washington, DC. The exact numbers are: 3 in California, Indiana and Minnesota; 2 in Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Oregon and Tennessee; 1 each in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, DC.
As of October 22, there were a total of 1,604 cases of lung injury linked to e-cigarette products in 49 states, Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands, up from 1,479 cases of vaping-related illness the week before, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, these patients are mostly young white men. The majority (nearly 80%) are under the age of 35.
About half of the cases, including two deaths, affected people under 25 years old.
Previous reports have highlighted the presence of THC-containing products in the epidemic. According to the latest data, based on product use data from 867 patients, 86% used THC-containing products, 64% used nicotine-containing products, 52% used both products, 34% used THC-only products, and 11% used nicotine-only products.
“The data is pointing toward THC products,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the CDC, told reporters. “But I have to emphasize that we don’t know what the toxic substance is. THC may be how the oil is made.”
Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, cautioned that the existing data are often self-reported and still need to be verified.
“I only use nicotine products,' that's one-sided,” Mr. Zeller told reporters. And those responses came from minors or people from states where THC is banned.
Additionally, some patients don't know what the main ingredient is in what they've vaped, “and the methods for collecting data on substances used vary from state to state.”
Source: CNN Health
