A risk of vaping tied to vitamin E acetate oil

Vaping has become an extremely popular alternative to smoking in the last few years, especially in younger generations. While vape may not have the same adverse effects as cigarettes—blackened lungs, cancers, and more—over 2,000 severe vape-related lung injuries indicate that it’s definitely not harmless.

The Center for Disease Control has detected a “potential toxin of concern,” according to Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal duty director. This toxin is vitamin E acetate, which is a synthetic vitamin E oil used in vape juice.

To confirm this suspicion, investigators tested the lung fluid of 29 injured patients.

The results?

Vitamin E acetate was in all 29 samples. What’s more, no other oils present in vape juice were found in notable levels. Vitamin E oil is healthy to apply topically and even to eat, but when inhaled, it coats the inside of the lungs.

While this new finding is promising in narrowing down the effects of vaping, most of the patients with lung injuries also reported smoking THC in addition to nicotine. The majority of healthy vape users—94% of them—report using only nicotine. Thus, the problem remains complicated and not completely understood. Increased regulation is still on the way to try to combat illnesses associated with using vape products, but science still has a way to go in researching this form of drug use.