Federal investigators discovered far more reports of seizures linked to vaping e-cigarettes than originally anticipated.
On August 7, the FDA issued a press release stating their scientific investigation uncovered 127 reports of seizures linked to vaping electronic cigarettes. This number far surpasses the original number of 35 reports since 2010. The FDA launched their investigation on April 3 in response to the growing number of vaping seizure reports, a number that has tripled since then. The FDA plans to continue their investigation and will post reports to their Tobacco Product Problem Reports webpage.
In the press release, the FDA states they currently “don’t have enough information to determine if e-cigarettes are causing these reported incidents.” However, they encourage the public to report any cases of vaping-caused seizures through their Safety Reporting Portal.
“Additional reports or more detailed information about these incidents are vital to help inform our analysis and may help us identify common risk factors and determine whether any specific e-cigarette product attributes, such as nicotine content or formulation, may be more likely to contribute to seizures,” said Ned Sharpless, M.D., acting FDA Commissioner.
Electronic Cigarette Vaping Epidemic
The FDA’s investigation comes during what many call a “vaping epidemic” in the United States.
Vaping e-cigarettes has become increasingly popular over the past few years across a range of ages. However, US teens appear to be impacted the most by the vaping epidemic. The CDC reported high school and middle school students vaping has increased 900% from 2011 to 2015 in the United States. While originally created as better alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are causing users to quickly develop severe nicotine addictions.
Nationwide, vaping injuries have increased in the last few years, some of them resulting in users’ deaths. Many reports published over the last few years linked vaping e-cigarettes to several injuries, including respiratory failure, seizures, nicotine poisoning, etc. Notably, consumers across the country blame JUUL e-cigarettes for their vaping injuries, as seen by the increasing number of JUUL vaping lawsuits. Young adults, teenagers, and parents are claiming that JUUL Labs, manufacturers of the most popular e-cigarette on the market, targeted teens in their marketing campaigns and failed to adequately warn consumers of severe health risks.
If you or a loved one has endured injuries or developed a nicotine addiction after vaping JUUL e-cigarettes, you might be entitled to financial compensation for your suffering. Contact AVA Law Group today to learn more!