HJBR Jan/Feb 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  JAN / FEB 2020 49 Rebekah E. Gee, MD, MPH Secretary Louisiana Department of Health While we do not yet have long-term stud- ies to understand how vaping devices affect long-term health, the vaping injuries we are experiencing are real. This is not a theoretical for us. Vaping injuries are very serious. Na- tionwide, 95 percent of those patients with lung injury, also known as EVALI, have been hospitalized. Clearly, vaping-related lung in- juries are having an impact on families in Lou- isiana, and that should matter to everyone. The Louisiana Department of Health is recommending that people stop using all va- ping products, especially those sold on the street, or that have had substances added after their manufacture. The Centers for Dis- ease Control has found a “chemical of con- cern”, which may be the source of the deaths and injuries: Vitamin E acetate, which is often used as a thickening agent in vaping devic- es that deliver THC—the active ingredient in marijuana. The chemical is also found in some nicotine products. Those who continue to vape should seek medical attention if they experience symp- toms of EVALI. These symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nau- sea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and weight loss. The Department of Health has directed health providers to ask patients us- ing vaping devices within the past 90 days if they have experienced any of these symp- toms. Providers who suspect their patients may have fallen victim to a lung injury should report those cases to the department. Because of privacy rules, the Department of Health cannot provide identifying informa- tion about EVALI victims, but it is worth noting that one of our major concerns about the rise in vaping is its popularity among young peo- ple. After a period of relatively steady growth between 2011 and 2013, the Centers for Dis- ease Control reported that the use of vaping devices doubled among 18 to 24 year-olds na- tionwide. In Louisiana, vaping among middle and high school students has doubled since 2017, and tripled since 2015. CDC data also shows how much vaping-related injuries have affected young people. About three-quarters of those with vaping-related lung injury were under the age of 35. We are concerned that the troubling rise among youth using vaping devices, and peo- ple who have never smoked before, could be tied to the perception that vaping devices are safe. That is why it is so important to commu- nicate the safety concerns, as well as remind the public that vaping devices are a nicotine delivery device, and nicotine is one of the most addictive substances currently known. The presence of nicotine may make vaping devices appear attractive as a less-harmful replacement to smoking, but the safety con- cerns around vaping demonstrate the im- portance of quitting nicotine use altogether. Smoking cessation aids are now widely avail- able to help users quit smoking and vaping, with nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges all available over-the-counter. Inhalers and nasal spray are also available with a doctor’s pre- scription. E-cigarette users and smokers who are in- terested in more information about quitting can call 1-800-QUIT NOW or visit www.quit- withusla.org for free and confidential help. n