US Officials to Correct Misinformation on Nicotine E-Cigarettes

Tobacco researchers in the United States have consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The US Secretary of Health will address some incorrect information released by public health agencies regarding nicotine e-cigarettes.

US Health Secretary Vivek Murthy has recently launched an initiative to reduce the spread of health misinformation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this effort, he has advised public health institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop promoting inaccurate information about electronic cigarettes. For instance, the CDC had disseminated misleading information about the lung injuries caused by e-cigarettes in 2019 (EVALI), and the Health Secretary's report about youth e-cigarette use in 2016 had wrongly claimed that nicotine e-cigarettes were the most commonly used among young people.

The call was made in an editorial published in the Addiction journal. It was co-written by Michael Pesko, a health economist at Georgia State University, along with colleagues from Harvard Medical School, Pennsylvania State University, the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of Michigan. Tom Miller, the former chairman of the Truth Initiative board and Iowa's attorney general, was also a co-author.

The author of the editorial explained that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) named the lung injury of 2019 related to the usage of e-cigarettes as "EVALI" and refused to change the name, which led to widespread attention and misunderstanding from the public and scientific community about the cause of the disease.

It has been reported that the current director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, Brian King, coined the term "EVALI." King is a staunch opponent of nicotine e-cigarettes and was formerly an employee in the smoking and health office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The name EVALI has been indirectly responsible for the deaths of 68 people and has sent thousands to hospital, as they were not given a clear warning by public health officials about the risks associated with unregulated electronic cigarettes containing THC oil.

According to the author, all evidence indicates that the illegal tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) e-cigarettes contaminated with vitamin E acetate are the main risk factor for illness, but there is no research indicating any chemicals found in nicotine e-cigarettes. Vitamin E acetate is insoluble in nicotine e-liquid and has never been detected in nicotine e-cigarettes.

The author suggests that despite evidence to the contrary, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) continues to include e-cigarettes in the EVALI designation. This naming convention has had an impact on news reporting and has contributed to a distorted belief among consumers that using nicotine e-cigarettes is risky.

In 2021, the same author officially requested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention trace a change in the name "EVALI," removing "e-cigarette" from the name and adding "adult THC.

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