Two illnesses related to vaping were recently reported in Eastern South Dakota. Both patients are between 20 to 24 years old. Josh Clayton is the State Epidemiologist with the Department of Health. He says the department is investigating to find out what types of products caused the illness. Some similar national cases stem from alterations to the e-cigarettes like adding flavorings, THC or other products.
“It’s a phenomenon that we’ve heard about in other states. We’ll be looking into it to identify where the products were purchased from for these two individuals. And then to see if there were any other products that were used, whether they may have altered themselves or had someone else alter them or had received them in an altered state. Most of the products that you’ll be seeing in some of those retail stores, convenience stores, vape shops and so on don’t really fit that off label use. They’re manufactured under conditions where they’re being monitored by FDA.”
Clayton says a national investigation is also researching causes of illnesses in off market products. He says e-cigarette products are intended to wean people off of cigarettes and it’s not recommended to start using any tobacco product.