Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vaping's Damage To Lungs Goes Beyond Acute Illness To Chronic Risk Of Respiratory Disease
The extreme cases of lung injury caused by vaping have raised awareness of the potential harms of electronic cigarettes. Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking the problem last March, there have been 52 confirmed deaths and about 2,400 hospitalizations. Many of these acute illnesses are linked to black market THC products, but a growing body of evidence points to the risks associated with vaping nicotine. (Aubrey, 12/16)
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine on Monday, is among the first bodies of research to examine the link between e-cigarette use and respiratory disease in the long-term, by analyzing e-cigarette use and respiratory disease during a three-year period. "I was a little surprised that we could find evidence on incident lung disease in the longitudinal study, because three years is a while but most studies that look at the development of lung disease go over 10 to 20 years," said Stanton Glantz, senior author of the study and director of University of California, San Francisco's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. (Howard, 12/16)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed into law a bill that bans the retail sale of nearly all flavored e-cigarette products, which health officials have said are popular among young people. New York joins some 230 municipalities and states across the country that have enacted restrictions on the sale of the products. The New York City Council passed the ban in late November. Mint and wintergreen flavors are included in the ban, but not tobacco-flavored products. (West, 12/16)
In North Texas鈥 Coppell Independent School District, 鈥渧ape-detecting technology鈥 鈥 sensors akin to smoke alarms 鈥 are tucked in secret locations on campuses. They automatically ping administrators when suspicious chemicals wafting in the air indicate students might be vaping. In other Texas school districts, students must sign out to use the bathroom during class, and drug-sniffing dogs are making the rounds. (Swaby and McCullough 12/17)
