Vaping health crisis: the latest on lung injuries, exploding e-cigs, and seizures – The Verge

The Juul class action lawsuit is paying people huge amounts of money

2024-10-22T11:04:34-04:00

Payouts from Juul's $300 million class action settlement are finally getting distributed - and some people are getting a lot more money than they expected.

If you scroll through the r/juul subreddit, you can see posts showing the thousands - or hundreds - of dollars hitting people's Venmo accounts. One screenshot shows someone who said they received more than $9,000, while others report receiving $6,200 and $4,600.

Judging by the comments on some of these posts, it appears people who submitted receipts for their Juul pods or pens may have gotten bigger payouts, and with some users spending hundreds of dollars per week on vaping, the amount …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Multiple brands likely responsible for vaping injuries, CDC says

2019-12-12T13:01:00-05:00

THC-containing vaping products sold under the name Dank Vapes are the most common brand associated with vaping-related injuries, according to a new update from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). However, there are regional differences in the brands associated with injury and hospitalization, and officials say that one single brand is likely not responsible for the outbreak of injuries.

As of December 3rd, 2,291 patients were hospitalized with vaping-related injuries, now known as EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury), in the United States. Only 1,782 of those patients provided information on the products th …

Read the full story at The Verge.

New York attorney general sues Juul for deceptive marketing

2019-11-19T11:33:13-05:00

On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a new lawsuit against e-cigarette company Juul, alleging that the company misled consumers about the risks of vaping through deceptive advertising.

In its lawsuit, New York alleges that Juul's marketing of its products downplayed their health risks and used "colorful images of attractive, young models" to appeal to minors.

"There can be no doubt that JUUL's aggressive advertising has significantly contributed to the public health crisis that has left youth in New York and across the country addicted to its products," James said. "By glamorizing vaping, while at the same time dow …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the vaping health crisis

2019-11-15T09:25:03-05:00

The past year has seen a skyrocketing rate of teen vaping, an outbreak of lung injuries, some serious regulatory shake-ups in the e-cigarette industry, and a whole lot of panic. With so many different vaping crises going on right now, we thought we'd provide a vaping roundup.

This post will be updated as new information emerges.

I keep hearing about illnesses and injuries. What's going on with vaping right now?

In the United States, regulatory and public health agencies are looking into these three different public health-related problems:

Exploding e-cigarettes
Seizures
Lung injuries

Did you say exploding e-cigarettes?

Exploding e-cig …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple removes all vaping-related apps from the App Store

2019-11-15T09:00:13-05:00

Apple has removed all apps relating to vaping from the App Store, citing warnings from health experts that the spread of vaping products and e-cigarettes constitutes a "public health crisis and a youth epidemic."

"[We've] updated our App Store Review Guidelines to reflect that apps encouraging or facilitating the use of these products are not permitted," said Apple in a press statement. "As of today, these apps are no longer available to download."

"As of today, these apps are no longer available to download."

The iPhone maker stopped accepting new vaping apps in June, and it has never allowed the sale of e-cigarette refills or vaping cartr …

Read the full story at The Verge.

CDC announces breakthrough in vaping lung injury investigation

2019-11-08T15:32:01-05:00

Samples of lung fluid from 29 lung injury patients in 10 states all contained the same chemical, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. The discovery is a huge step forward for the ongoing investigation into the severe and mysterious lung injuries that have affected e-cigarette users across the country.

The chemical, called vitamin E acetate is now considered a "chemical of concern" by the CDC, which is investigating the outbreak. As of November 5th, 2019, 39 people have died of the injury, and 2,051 cases are being investigated.

when vitamin E acetate is inhaled, it may interfere with normal lung functioning

The agency …

Read the full story at The Verge.

San Francisco proceeds with e-cigarette sales ban after decisive vote

2019-11-06T12:17:26-05:00

San Francisco will ban the sale of e-cigarettes entirely starting in 2020, after the resounding defeat of a proposition designed to thwart the restrictions. The ballot measure was the last hurdle for the proposed ban, which was passed into law in June.

Early results from the city's Department of Elections show that slightly more than 80 percent of voters opposed Proposition C, which would have overturned the ban and paved the way for looser regulations. Initially, Proposition C was heavily supported by Juul Labs, which poured an estimated $18 million into promoting the measure. Efforts to defeat the proposition were spearheaded by former Ne …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Vaping is still on the rise in high schools

2019-11-05T09:00:00-05:00

One in four high schoolers and one in ten middle schoolers have tried vaping in the last 30 days, according to the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey released today. The survey results come as both states and the federal government have called for stricter regulations to stem the rising number of young people who use e-cigarettes. But current efforts may be falling short by continuing to allow mint and menthol flavors to be easily accessible. Another study, published today in the same journal, found that mint was the most popular flavor for Juul users in eighth through 12th grade.

a gigantic leap

The numbers, published in the Journal of the …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Juul suspends sale of fruity flavor pods

2019-10-17T13:41:21-04:00

On Thursday, e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs announced that it would be suspending the sale of all fruity flavored vape pods until the products are fully reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

"We must reset the vapor category by earning the trust of society and working cooperatively with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders to combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers," Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a statement Thursday.

This announcement means that all mango, creme, fruit, and cucumber-flavored vape pods will no longer be available for sale unless they receive formal approval from the FDA.

…

Read the full story at The Verge.

Vaping lung death toll hits 26 as CDC investigation continues

2019-10-10T17:19:04-04:00

Nearly 1,300 people have come down with a serious lung injury related to vaping, as government researchers continue to investigate the cause of the outbreak. That's an increase of over 200 reported cases since last week.

"We are concerned - with hundreds of new cases reported each week - that we're looking at a very concerning outbreak, very difficult to control," Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a press call today. "The data that we're getting does not suggest this has peaked. It doesn't suggest this is declining."

The age range among reported injury cases is highly …

Read the full story at The Verge.