CHICAGO: U.S. health officials on Thursday reported another 180 cases of vaping-related lung illnesses and announced plans to start testing aerosols produced by e-cigarettes and vaping products as they search for the source of the nationwide outbreak that has so far killed at least 33 people in 24 states.
Investigators primarily have been testing the liquids in vape products. Testing the aerosol produced after the liquids are heated might show whether that causes a chemical reaction that produces a toxic substance. Among the results, 14 products contained THC, nine of which also tested positive for Vitamin E acetate, while another seven contained nicotine."We've got nicotine pens; we've got THC-containing pens; we've got Vitamin E acetate associated with a lot of the THC pens, but we are not in a position to say what's the cause of this dreadful illness," the official with New York's testing lab said.
More than 90per cent of patients reported having vaped THC, and only a handful of cases denied using THC, Dunn said.