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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked vaping to 1,479 cases of a mysterious lung disease over the last six months. At least 33 people have died since the outbreak began. The illness is marked by chest pain, shortness of breath and vomiting, and it has largely affected young people. The vast majority of cases, almost 80%, involve e-cigarette users younger than 35, and another 15% are younger than 18. (Baumgaertner, Greene and Mukherjee, 10/23)

Dr. Mangala Narasimhan carefully inserted the long, thin probe down Gregory Rodriguez's throat, snaking it past his vocal cords and deep into his damaged lungs. A ventilator breathed for the 22-year-old college student as Narasimhan began sucking out the yellow, jelly-like clots that had nearly killed him. "It really was gross," said Narasimhan, a lung specialist and director of critical care medicine at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York. (Hughes and O'Donnnell, 10/23)

Kaiser Health News: As Vaping Devices Evolve, New Potential Hazards Scrutinized

The smokeless tobacco industry that began with low-voltage cigarette look-alikes has evolved to include customizable, high-wattage machines capable of generating enormous clouds of vapor ― and potentially toxic substances. As the technology continues to change, researchers are finding more evidence that the way vaping devices and e-liquids interact could harm consumers. High-powered devices may overheat vaping liquids to produce toxic chemicals, tobacco experts warn, and the aerosol that is inhaled may be contaminated with dangerous metals from the device. (Heredia Rodriguez, 10/24)

For years, a divisive debate has raged in the United States over the health consequences of nicotine e-cigarettes. During the same time, vaping of a more contentious substance has been swiftly growing, with scant notice from public health officials. Millions of people now inhale marijuana not from joints or pipes filled with burning leaves but through sleek devices and cartridges filled with flavored cannabis oils. People in the legalized marijuana industry say vaping products now account for 30 percent or more of their business. (Richtel, 10/21)

Numerous U.S. states have put bans on some types of the products, and federal regulators have also signaled that tighter curbs on vaping are coming soon. If the crackdown endures, tobacco companies will find themselves in an unusual situation in 2020: While the vaping controversy may cloud the future of different cigarette alternatives that they’ve spent billions of dollars to develop, it may also mean their staple products—the cigarettes that made them into globe-spanning behemoths but also left them on the hook for hundreds of billions for smoking-related illnesses—stage a bit of a comeback. (Kary, 10/23)

For the first time, U.S. health regulators have judged a type of smokeless tobacco to be less harmful than cigarettes, a decision that could open the door to other less risky options for smokers. The milestone announcement on Tuesday makes Swedish Match tobacco pouches the first so-called reduced-risk tobacco product ever sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration. (Perrone, 10/22)

The powerful Ways and Means Committee advanced, 24-15, a bill that would tax nicotine used in e-cigarettes to the House floor Wednesday. The legislation (HR 4742), sponsored by New York Democrat Tom Suozzi, would establish a $27.81 tax per gram of nicotine used in vaping devices. Traditional cigars and cigarettes, which already face a similar tax, are exempt. Smoking cessation therapies are also excluded. (Clason, 10/23)

A five-block section of downtown Los Angeles that used to be part of the city’s Toy District has become ground zero for the nation’s counterfeit cannabis trade. While a few remaining stores sell fidget spinners and stuffed animals, the majority are hawking vape cartridges, e-juice flavors, vaporizers and other wholesale smoking and vaping supplies — including knockoffs that originated in China. (De Marco, 10/18)

It all started at the mall when a friend offered her a puff from a JUUL e-cigarette. "It was kind of peer pressure," says Beth, a Denver-area 15-year-old who started vaping in middle school. "Then I started inhaling it," she says. "I suddenly was, like, wow, I really think that I need this — even though I don't." (Daley, 10/23)

Kaiser Health News: For Generation Juul, Nicotine Addiction Happens Fast And Is Hard To Shake

When Will tried his first vape during his sophomore year, he didn’t know what to expect. It was just something he had vaguely heard about at his high school. “I just sort of remember using it a bunch of times, like in a row,” he said. “And there’s this huge buzz-sensation-like head rush. And I just … didn’t really stop.”Will kept vaping nicotine addictively for the next year and a half. He was part of a trend. (Yu, 10/21)

Governor Charlie Baker faced questions Wednesday on Boston Public Radio about the merits of his four-month ban on all vaping products that has come under fire by consumers, regulators, industry experts, and much of the wider community. The ban, which Baker implemented late last month, is on shaky ground this week after a state judge ruled Monday that the governor’s administration has until next week to properly re-file the ban as an emergency regulation, or nicotine vape sales will resume. (Gans, 10/23)

The plaintiffs in the case challenging Governor Charlie Baker’s four-month ban on the sale of nicotine and marijuana vaping products have also filed an appeal of a Superior Court judge’s ruling that partially sided with the vaping industry. The Vapor Technology Association on Tuesday asked the Appeals Court to impose an immediate injunction based on Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins’s conclusion that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail in their lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban. (Murphy, 10/23)

Despite the spread of vaping-related illnesses, Florida’s top health official told legislators the state isn’t taking dramatic steps at this time to address the issue. Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said Tuesday the state has had 68 cases of vaping-related illnesses in 21 counties and one confirmed death. (Sexton, 10/23)

A vote could come within the next month on legislation aimed at curbing youth tobacco and e-cigarette use, House Speaker Robert DeLeo suggested Tuesday as advocates met with lawmakers to make their case for quick action to ban flavored tobacco. A day after a Superior Court judge allowed the Baker administration’s temporary ban on vaping product sales to stay in place for at least another week, DeLeo said that vaping is an “evolving issue” and that he hopes lawmakers use the coming weeks to “take a more comprehensive look beyond just a plain vaping ban.” (Lannan, 10/23)