CHICAGO — Tests of lung samples taken from 29 patients with vaping-related injuries suggest all contained Vitamin E acetate, a discovery U.S. officials described on Friday as a “breakthrough” in the investigation of the nationwide outbreak that has topped 2,000 cases.
The discovery of Vitamin E acetate in lung samples offers the first direct evidence of a link with the substance and vaping-related lung injuries. The substance has also been identified in tests by U.S. and state officials of product samples collected from patients with the vaping injury.
In a telephone briefing on Friday, Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called Vitamin E acetate “a very strong culprit of concern” and referred to the discovery as “a breakthrough” in the investigation.
She cautioned that more work is needed to definitively declare it a cause, and said studies may identify other potential causes of the serious injuries as well.
Vitamin E acetate is believed to be used as a cutting agent in illicit vaping products containing THC – the component of marijuana that gets people high.
The substance was identified early in product testing done in the New York Health Department’s Wadsworth laboratory, but not every THC vaping pen the lab tested contained Vitamin E, a lab official told Reuters.
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