U.S. health officials have reported a "breakthrough" in their investigation into the mysterious outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses that has been plaguing the country for months.
According to CNN, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked the illnesses to vitamin E acetate — an oily, synthetic substance sometimes used in THC oils and other vaping products.
Every state, except for Alaska, has reported instances of the illness. There have also been at least 40 deaths reported as a result of the disease.
Patients with these lung injuries typically show up at the hospital complaining of shortness of breath after experiencing several days of flu or pneumonia-like symptoms. The injuries to these individual's lungs can often look like chemical burns or toxic chemical exposure.
Vitamin E is used in various products such as lotions and some supplements. In these concentrations, the substance is harmless. But the CDC said there is a "big difference" between putting the it on your skin or swallowing it in a pill versus inhaling the oily vitamin through a vaping product.
"These new findings are significant," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC said. "We have a strong culprit."
The CDC's Dr. James Pirkle described vitamin E acetate as "enormously sticky" when it goes into the lungs, and it added that it "does hang around."
"This does not rule out other possible ingredients," she said. "There may be more than one cause."
Until they've completed their investigation, the CDC is advising people to refrain from using all vaping products with THC, whether purchased through black market means or not.
h/t: CNN
