Health Officials Close in on Culprit in Vaping Lung Injury Cases

Lab tests have found a chemical derived from vitamin E in samples of vaping products that have sickened people in 25 states.

Investigators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered the chemical in samples of nearly all the marijuana products used by patients who developed a mysterious lung illness linked to vaping, the Washington Post reported. The same chemical was also found in nearly all cannabis samples from New York patients who were sickened, a state health department spokeswoman told the Post.

Vitamin E acetate is available as a dietary supplement and skin treatment. Experts told the Post it can be dangerous when inhaled, leading to the cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain reported by those sickened after vaping. The FDA also told state officials Wednesday that its testing found nothing unusual in nicotine products collected from sick patients.

The developments dovetail with reports of new cases of vaping-related lung problems every week. Two people -- one in Illinois and another in Oregon -- have died. The Oregon death followed use of an e-cigarette containing marijuana oil, health officials said Wednesday. It had been purchased from a legal dispensary. Authorities have said they suspect contaminants or counterfeit substances are a likely cause of the illnesses.

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