What’s happening in the USA?
1000+ people have been hospitalized with lung related problems, most of them have lipoid pneumonia. 12 people have died thus far.
Was this caused by vaping?
Not from vaping normal nicotine eliquid, no. 77% of the people hospitalized have admitted to vaping THC eliquid. It’s highly likely that all of those affected used THC eliquid but were too afraid to admit it for fear of the legal repercussions, since THC/cannabis is still illegal in many states.
What is THC and why is vaping it bad?
It’s not the THC that’s bad, it’s the chemicals used to thicken the eliquid which are the problem. The substance that seems to be causing the illnesses is vitamin E acetate.
Why is vitamin E acetate bad to vape?
While vitamin E acetate is safe for eating and putting on your skin, it’s an oil based substance, so if you vape it the oil will coat the inside of your lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
So is there vitamin e acetate in the eliquid i bought from the shop?
No, PG and VG are used in normal nicotine based eliquids, both of which are harmless when inhaled.
So this won’t happen me if I’m vaping normal eliquid?
No. If you look at it logically, people have been vaping for 10+ years and there hasn’t been a single instance of these illnesses in all that time. Now it’s happening to a relatively small amount of people in an isolated area (USA). Common sense should tell you that something has changed and in this case we believe the change has been black market manufacturers using something that shouldn’t be used, Vitamin E Acetate. It should also be noted that Public health England released a statement reiterating that vaping is still at least 95% safer than smoking see the tweet below.
Why are some states banning flavoured eliquids?
That’s a good question, we have no idea, it seems very counter-intuitive. By banning flavours, which an overwhelming majority of vapers use, they’re just going to create a black market for them and then we’re back to the initial problem of having unregulated eliquids made with unsafe ingredients.
Stay safe, buy eliquid from a reputable source and keep on vaping!
