Many people in Georgia use e-cigarettes and other vaping products as an alternative to smoking. Though these products were marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, there is a lot of debate over how safe they actually are.
CDC investigating lung injuries
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been investigating an outbreak of lung injuries connected to the use of e-cigarettes. The CDC began looking into the problem in October 2019 when nearly 1,300 cases of lung injuries were recorded across 49 states. All of the lung injury cases were connected to the use of e-cigarettes, and 26 of the cases were fatal.
The CDC advises against the use of vaping products
Other public health organizations, including the Food and Drug Administration, have joined the CDC in its investigation of vaping-related lung injuries. However, it is still unclear whether these cases were product defect injuries or if all e-cigarettes are inherently dangerous.
The CDC says that, until they determine the exact cause of the injuries and fatalities, they recommend that people refrain from using vaping products that contain THC or nicotine. Based on the information that they have gathered so far, the CDC is most concerned with THC-containing vaping products.
Most people who were injured used THC
According to the CDC, 76% of lung injury cases involved vaping products that contained THC. However, vaping products with nicotine were also linked to injuries, and the CDC is not excluding nicotine products as a possible cause of the injuries. Investigators found that 58% of the injured consumers used nicotine products, and 13% used nicotine products exclusively.
There are other ways to quit smoking
Because of the safety concerns, most health care providers do not recommend vaping as a method for quitting smoking. The CDC has advised people to look into other methods to quit smoking that is approved by the FDA. People that continue to vape are advised to purchase products from trusted retailers and never off of the street. It is dangerous to modify e-cigarettes or add substances to them in a way that the manufacturer did not intend.
