Lung illnesses that have largely been linked to vaping THC, the chemical that causes the medical high in marijuana, have struck 1,080 people and killed 18.
The latest illness tally, shared Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represents an increase of 275 cases since last week. It comes after scientists realized they had been missing a few cases from earlier this year.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC principal deputy director, said the outbreak does not appear to be abating. Officials are still conducting tests about what the exact cause of the problem is, and the CDC has sent scientists to help states with their investigations. Only New Hampshire and Alaska haven’t reported any illnesses.
“I wish we had more answers,” Schuchat said.
The illness, which can become very severe and send people to the hospital for intensive care, causes chest pain, nausea, and breathing problems. Schuchat said the lung damage patients face may even end up being permanent, but that doctors were still monitoring them.
Health officials are still warning the public not to use e-cigarettes, but have stressed that people “particularly” shouldn’t use them if they have THC in them. Schuchat said the public should be particularly worried about products they get off the streets, and said that the outbreak would likely be very difficult to control.
“There does not appear to be one product or substance involved in all of the cases,” Dr. Judy McMeekin, FDA deputy associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said in a phone call with reporters.
Officials have been careful not to blame marijuana alone because 17% of people are still reporting that they only vaped nicotine. Additional testing and interviews from the CDC showed that at least 78% of the 578 cases examined showed THC use.
Members of Congress have called on the Trump administration to get much tougher on e-cigarettes amid the most recent outbreak and also amid new data showing that more teenagers are using e-cigarettes. A CDC report out Thursday found that 2.4 million middle and high schoolers used e-cigarettes in 2018.
The FDA intends to ban flavored e-cigarettes from the market in the coming months, citing both teen use and the outbreak. Other states are moving to ban them even sooner.
Defenders of e-cigarettes say regulators shouldn’t be so quick to go after e-cigarette flavors, and that Congress should instead focus on dealing with THC, which is largely unregulated. They worry people will turn to regular cigarettes if they don’t have the option of using a device that tastes nothing like tobacco.
