Mecklenburg County investigating ‘public health crisis,’ including recent vaping death

After 40 cases of vaping-related illnesses across the state, Mecklenburg County Public Health announced Friday it is taking part in a multi-state investigation looking into the causes of vaping-related lung disease.

The update on the investigation, a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes one day after the first vaping-related death was reported in North Carolina.

There have been two cases of vaping-related illness in Mecklenburg County that required hospitalization, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Friday.

Officials don’t know exactly what is causing the illness, Harris said, which is part of the reason vaping is so dangerous.

“Until we know more, we have real concerns about anyone using these products,” she said. “…We cannot assure them they will not develop these lung illnesses.”

The multi-state investigation aims to discover exactly what causes the illness, Harris said. When a physician reports a patient has symptoms of vaping-related lung disease or illness, the county and state will interview the patient and family to pinpoint a common cause between cases.

Mecklenburg County has been involved in the investigation for almost two months, officials said.

Harris said she would like to see the state ban the sale of vape products until more research is done, but doesn’t believe that will happen.

“We know what cigarettes do to the body,” she said. “We’re learning what (vaping) does. That’s part of the concern.”

E-cig bans in other states

Massachusetts has announced a four-month ban on sale of vaping products, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. Other states, including New York and Michigan, have announced a ban of flavored vaping products, according to Time.com.

“It is being considered a public health crisis, and the CDC is talking about it as an epidemic,” Harris said.

In Mecklenburg County and elsewhere, Harris said, parents may not realize their kids are vaping. Vapes come in different shapes, and some look similar to a USB drive.

The use of e-cigarettes or vapes by North Carolina high school students increased by 888% between 2011 and 2015, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Harris said North Carolina’s first vaping-related death has not been included in the official CDC death numbers yet. The CDC reports 12 people have died from vaping-related illnesses so far. That number is updated once a week.

The CDC reported Thursday there have been 805 cases of vaping-related illnesses across the U.S.

Harris said the ages of people affected by vaping-related illness in North Carolina range from 16 to 72.

People shouldn’t restart smoking cigarettes if they quit vaping, Harris said. There are other ways to quit using nicotine, including the nicotine patch and the free helpline at 1-800-784-8669.

There’s also a helpline to quit vaping. People trying to quit can text “ditchjuul” to 88709.

It’s especially dangerous to buy vaping supplies on the street or online, Harris said, because those methods aren’t regulated.

Some patients reporting vaping-related illness have used e-cigarettes with THC, a chemical derived from marijuana, according to the CDC. Others report using THC and nicotine, or just nicotine.

The CDC reports symptoms of the vaping-related illness include:

▪ cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain

▪ nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

▪ fatigue, fever, or abdominal pain

There’s much more research that needs to be done, Harris said.

“Cigarettes were around for a long time before we fully understood the impact on people’s health,” she said.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 12:13 PM.