Hospitalizations Tied to Vaping on the Rise

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On March 1, Dr. Ben Arthurs visited Riverside High School in Chattaroy. The school had asked him to speak about the health risks associated with vaping after a student became very ill.

“One of their classmates had overdosed after basically just smoking a high concentration of nicotine that led to effectively an overdose that led the patient to be somewhat comatose,” said Arthurs, a pulmonologist with Multicare Rockwood.

The incident is among those that has become a proliferation of vaping-related hospitalizations across the country, as the Center for Disease Control released a statement Friday in response to a vaping related death in Illinois. As of Thursday, the CDC reported there have been 193 potential cases of severe lung illness associated e-cigarettes, all reported between June 28 and Aug. 20.



“This tragic death in Illinois reinforces the serious risks associated with e-cigarette products,” Dr. Robert R. Redfield, CDC director, said in a statement. “Vaping exposes users to many different substances for which we have little information about related harms — including flavorings, nicotine, cannabinoids, and solvents.”

Arthurs said one of the dangers of vaping is that the concentration of nicotine can vary greatly. Though Arthurs understands the public is concerned about the recent vaping hospitalizations, he said there should be more concern for the long term effects of vaping.