E-Cigarette Deaths: Facts, Causes & Context
E-Cigarette Deaths – Causes and Facts
For years, the media has repeatedly branded e-cigarettes as unhealthy, unresearched, exploding and toxic, while linking them in the same breath to drugs and a gateway into tobacco use for young people. The problem is always the same: editors don’t do their research, while every tabloid rag knows exactly how to exploit its readers’ appetite for sensational stories to generate clicks and keep an ad-funded business alive. Why would a journalist bother doing proper research when negative headlines drive so many clicks, and when the average reader loves getting worked up about how stupid you must be to “smoke” e-cigarettes?
Over the past few weeks, the negative headlines have reached a new level. So here are a few words to clarify the current situation around the deaths in the USA, and what is actually being twisted and blown out of proportion.
The facts
- The cause is exclusively illegally produced cannabis cartridges sold on the black market
- The cases are localised and limited to the states of Wisconsin and Iowa
- Some of those responsible have already been identified and the drug labs raided
- None of the e-liquids we sell are affected, thanks to the Europe-wide TPD2 regulation
“First death after e-cigarette use”
The headline from the article in the newspaper ***Name removed due to legal notice*** refers to a mysterious lung disease, with 193 cases reported since June 2019 and the first death now recorded. At first glance—and for 90% of readers—the message is obvious: e-cigarettes kill people. Since then, reports on the topic have been piling up, some more exaggerated than others. But what is the real cause?
According to various sources, 380–450 cases are known to date; sadly, up to six deaths have already been reported. What’s interesting is that these cases are confined exclusively to the states of Wisconsin and Iowa in the USA. It has also since been announced that a drug lab in Wisconsin was raided, where THC-laced liquids were being produced illegally and then sold on the street in the two states.
The “mysterious lung disease” was triggered by an additive contained in these THC liquids. Vitamin E acetate was used in high concentrations to turn the THC-containing oil extracted from cannabis plants into a water-soluble emulsion. The purpose was to make it water-soluble so it could be used in vape devices.
Clickbait and smear campaigns
Leading the charge is the company ***Name removed due to legal notice***. When we analyse these reports more closely, we notice the following.
One headline, multiple articles
***Links removed due to legal notice***
Without any real news, the same article is rewritten and published again. Look at the perfectly timed intervals between publications and it becomes clear that they were chosen very deliberately to convince even the last sceptic that e-cigarettes will put you in an early grave.
Headlines take aim at e-cigarettes
The words “e-cig”, “e-cigarette” or “vaping” appear in every headline, while the actual cause—namely the illegally filled drug cartridges—is buried deep within the articles. Sadly, we also see first-hand that a smear campaign like this is highly effective, and that many people place more trust in ***Name removed due to legal notice*** than in studies carried out by medical specialists.
Almost every e-cigarette-related report by ***Name removed due to legal notice*** is written by ***Name removed due to legal notice***.
Back at the beginning of 2019, we had already taken the time to brief ***Name removed due to legal notice*** in detail on the subject of e-cigarettes for a report, including a discussion of economic interests. That makes it all the more upsetting to see this “journalist” now acting despite knowing better—and even violating the press code of conduct.
For more information on the general and current political situation around vaping, you can visit https://www.vapers.guru/
