Alayna Fuller, The Daily The Daily Athenaeum
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Electronic cigarettes have been marketed as a safe alternative to cigarettes for years, but new findings of lung damage, chemical burns and stiffened blood vessels in e-cigarette users suggest that vaping may be equally as harmful.
As of Oct. 15, lung injury cases associated with using e-cigarette and vaping products has risen to 1,479 across 49 states, the District of Columbia and one U.S. territory, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thirty-three deaths have been confirmed in 24 states and 79% of patients affected by the use of vaping products are below the age of 35.
“My biggest concern is the fact that we have years of trying to get people off of cigarettes, and we were finally becoming somewhat successful across the nation, and now you’ve got a whole generation of young people who probably never would have picked up a cigarette, who have started using products that do have nicotine in them,” said Susan Morgan, clinical professor in the Department of Periodontics at the WVU School of Dentistry.
Vaping-related lung injury patients reported a gradual start of symptoms, including breathing difficulty, shortness of breath and chest pain before hospitalization, with many of them telling healthcare personnel of their recent use of vaping products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), according to the CDC. …
