The Washington Department of Health (DOH) has reported two new cases of severe respiratory illness suspected to be related to vaping. That brings the total number of people believed to have fallen ill from vaping in Washington state to three after the DOH reported the first case last week.
A mysterious vaping illness has spread across the country in recent months with vaping linked to nearly 400 illnesses and six deaths. The illness involves shortness of breath, coughing, and chest pain and is suspected to be caused by additives to e-cigarettes and cannabis vape cartridges.
DOH did not have many details about the two new cases but said that they are investigating the cases further and are now calling the vape illness a “state-wide outbreak.”
The first case occurred in King County but the two new cases both occurred in the Spokane area. Jamie Nixon, a spokesperson for DOH, said both patients fell ill in August but he did not know if they were hospitalized, if they are currently in the hospital, or if the patients used cannabis or nicotine vaporizers.
Nixon said the case reports DOH has are based on information “given to [healthcare] providers at the time of service.” He said the doctors compiling the reports “may have not asked the direct question about the type of vape used.”
Health officials across the country are scrambling to figure out what is getting people sick but they have yet to identify one single culprit for the health scare. An additive called Vitamin E oil has been identified in many of the vaporizers. Leafly has documented companies marketing Vitamin E oil as an effective cannabis vape additive and the compound is thought to be dangerous when inhaled. Vitamin E oil is not currently banned from Washington’s legal vaporizers, although all legal manufacturers are required to label all chemicals and additives used.
Most of the cases have been linked to cannabis vaporizers while “many” of the patients reported using both nicotine and cannabis vaporizers, according to the CDC. Only “some” of the patients reported using only e-cigarettes, according to the CDC.
