Vaping death agent identified

THICKENING agent deadly when inhaled. AFP Photo

US health officials said Friday they had identified vitamin E acetate as the likely culprit behind a vaping-linked lung injury epidemic that has killed 39 people and sickened more than two thousand.

Investigators have previously pointed to the oil, which is sometimes used as a thickening agent for vaping products that contain the psychoactive substance THC, as a possible cause of the outbreak.

But they are more certain now after it was detected in all 29 patients selected for a lung fluid study carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“These findings provide direct evidence of vitamin E acetate at the primary site of injury within the lungs,” said Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, calling it a “very strong culprit of concern” and describing the new work as a breakthrough.

“No other potential toxins were detected in the testing conducted so far,” she added.

Vitamin E acetate is found in many foods and is also used in supplements and in cosmetics products like skin cream, but interferes with lung function when inhaled.

A CDC release added that more investigation was required to definitively confirm a causal link and that it remained possible more than one toxin was responsible for the outbreak, which officials have called “e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury” or “EVALI.”