State health department warns physicians on vaping-connected illnesses
Photo | Flickr | Lindsay Fox
A 75% excise tax on the wholesale price of nicotine vaping products goes into effect Monday.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is asking clinicians to report any cases of respiratory illness possibly linked to vaping after nearly 200 such cases have popped up nationally.
The department sent email notices to prescribers Tuesday in response to as-yet-unexplained connections between smoking electronic cigarettes and respiratory illnesses. An Illinois man died of a severe lung disease, the first fatality in the outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Aug. 23.
That death, the CDC said, reinforces serious risks of e-cigarettes for which relatively little is still known about health effects. The agency does not consider vaping to be safe for anyone who doesn't currently use tobacco products, or pregnant women or youth.
Respiratory illness believed to be connected to vaping have been reported in 22 states, including Connecticut and New York, from late June through Aug. 22. Additional states may be added, pending verification, the CDC said. The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration are working with state officials to investigate.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is recommending clinicians ask patients about potential drug use, and in particular about vaping if the patient presents respiratory or pulmonary illness. Cases of significant illness and a history of vaping should be reported to health officials, the department said, and providers should ask patients to provide devices for potential testing if possible.
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