Vapers link illness to THC

In an online survey of 1,000 vapers sponsored by The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), 93 percent of respondents said they were aware of the recent outbreak of vaping-related illness that has killed 54 people and hospitalized more than 2,500 in the U.S.

However, more than half of respondents said that only people who vape cannabis products were at risk of vaping-related illnesses and death, despite the fact that a some of the people hospitalized during the outbreak reported not using cannabis products.

“What’s disturbing is that people aren’t aware of their risks,” said Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician in Phoenix. “They think that people are only at risk if they are using cannabis products or black-market products. They think, ‘My apple-flavored vape juice is just fine.’ But it could be just as dangerous as whatever else is out there.”

But Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, suggested the findings should be celebrated rather than lamented. “The AAFP is upset because many people correctly link the EVALI outbreak with the use of THC vaping products!” he wrote in his blog The rest of the story.

“What this means is that the AAFP would rather that the public be misinformed about the cause of the EVALI outbreak. The AAFP would rather have people believe that e-cigarettes are causing the outbreak even though that is not true.”