With the number of vaping-related lung injury cases topping 1,600, federal health investigators are examining sources in the United States and overseas for risky materials or substances using in vaping products. „We think something riskier is in much more frequent use,” said Anne Schuchat, CDC’s principal deputy director.
With the number of vaping-related lung injury cases topping 1,600, federal health investigators are examining sources in the United States and overseas for risky materials or substances using in vaping products. „We think something riskier is in much more frequent use,” said Anne Schuchat, CDC’s principal deputy director. „The supply chain now has a lot of risky products … We know there have been practices around the use of cutting agents to essentially increase the profit from selling cartridges.” Most of the cases involve vaping products containing THC. FDA is working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to gather products from international mail facilities around the country, hoping to identify the sources of the products that are making people ill and to track how harmful substances are reaching people. Mitch Zeller, director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said: „It is critically important that we get answers to these supply-chain questions and be able to get back to the source, especially for illicit product.” Thus far, FDA has collected more than 900 samples from 25 states. It is testing for a wide range of chemicals, including THC, nicotine, opioids, pesticides, toxins, and material used to dilute or cut ingredients.