On Sept. 10, a sixth person died from a lung disease related to vaping, according to Kansas health officials. This was the first death in the state from such a cause but is the product of a toxic product that has caught young audiences all over America by storm: e-cigarettes. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and state health departments are currently investigating the plague of vaping illnesses that has only been more rapidly spreading since they were first discovered.

At least 450 cases in 33 U.S. states and the Virgin Islands have arisen with a mystery lung illness related to vaping, a number that has been updated frequently and only shows a worse situation every time. The first reported death from this outbreak occurred in Illinois in August and was followed up by deaths in Oregon, Minnesota, Indiana, California and most recently in Kansas.

No cause has been indicated by the people and organizations behind the investigations as of yet. All reported cases have indicated e-cigarette products, with some cases including cannabinoid products. 

New York health officials revealed that extremely high levels of the chemical vitamin E acetate were found in nearly all cannabis-containing vaping products that were analyzed as part of the investigation. As such, Vitamin E acetate has become “a key focus” of the investigation. Some of the Vitamin E acetate include candy-flavored e-cigarettes. 

The CDC says e-cigarettes should never be used by youth, young adults, pregnant women or adults who do not currently use tobacco products. After the Kansas incident, the American Lung Association warned that “e-cigarettes are not safe” 

“No one should use e-cigarettes or any other tobacco product. This message is even more urgent today following the increasing reports of vaping-related illnesses and deaths nationwide,” Harold Wimmer, CEO of the association, said in a written statement.

“The AMA recommends anyone who has recently used e-cigarette products to seek medical care promptly if they experience any adverse health effects, particularly coughing, shortness of breath or chest pain,” Dr. Patrice Harris, the association’s president, said in a written statement on Sept. 9. 

In response to recent events, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed desire to advance legislation to ban flavored e-cigarettes. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Philanthropies, run by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced the launch of a new $160 million initiative to curb e-cigarette use among young people in the United States.

Action to ban e-cigarettes are in motion, but pushing this legislation forward will take time, during which others may follow the previous six victims of the recent epidemic to their deathbeds.

At the beginning of the 2010s, nicotine was on its way out but it seems that at the end of the decade, it came back in a new form and hit hard.

Prior to this, there was no adequate literature to affirm whether vaping was harmful or not and thus vaping was given the same treatment as any new product would. People would wait and see. Now, the time for waiting and seeing is over.