Updated: Sept. 17, 6:15 p.m.: Three more confirmed cases of severe respiratory illnesses believed to be caused by vaping have been reported in Dallas County hospitals, bringing the total to 17 since a national outbreak was identified in late August.
The county's top doctor Dr. Phillip Huang, briefing the County Commissioners Court Tuesday, said his department had confirmed three more cases after 14 were initially reported Monday.
Of the confirmed 17 patients, eight are under the age of 18. Eighty-two percent are male and 11 are Dallas County residents. Seven have required intubation and mechanical ventilation.
The department was investigating another four potential cases.
Health officials are unsure of the cause of the rash of hospitalizations. No specific product has been identified. Health officials are cautioning young people, non-smokers and pregnant women not to vape.
Original story: More than a dozen individuals — mostly young people — have been hospitalized in Dallas County hospitals with severe respiratory problems that health officials believe are part of the nationwide outbreak linked to vaping.
Patients across the country have experienced chest pain, nausea and fevers. And vaping has been blamed for six deaths nationwide.
State data lags, but as of Sept. 13 the Texas Department of Health and Human Services has recorded 25 cases with the preponderance coming from North Texas. No deaths have so far been reported in Texas.
As of Monday, 14 patients have been hospitalized in Dallas County facilities, according to local officials. The patients range in age from 16 to 44 with the median age being 19. All but one of the patients was considered healthy prior to their illness, and that’s concerning, said Dr. Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services.
In one extreme instance, a Tyler teenager was placed on a ventilator at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas as she battled respiratory distress.
“The fact is we have previously healthy teenagers who are now in intensive care and intubated and on ventilators,” said Huang, who is set to discuss these cases for the first time with the county commissioners Tuesday.
The county commission’s discussion comes as some states and municipalities consider restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes. The possibility of a federal ban on flavored vaping cartridges has also been raised. Some see the variety of flavors available — strawberry watermelon, pink lemonade, and churros and ice cream — as designed to increase the popularity of vaping among young people.
The Dallas County commissioners are not expected to take any action Tuesday.
Texas state lawmakers earlier this year raised the age requirement for smoking, including e-cigarettes, to 21. Meanwhile, a bill to license vaping stores, a proposal backed by some industry leaders, failed to advance.
Local and national health officials are unsure of what caused the rash of hospitalizations. No specific product has been identified, but each person hospitalized has reported vaping. Many reported vaping liquids that contain THC, the chemical responsible for marijuana's psychological effects.
Ninety percent of the Dallas County cases reported vaping THC products.
Advocates for vaping and e-cigarettes say it is these unauthorized vape materials that should face more scrutiny.
"If you want to find out what is causing these health problems, ask the drug dealers who are selling this stuff," said Jay Maguire, executive director of Texas Vapor Coalition. "It's not mom-and-pop vape shops or legitimate e-liquid manufacturers and distributors."
Randi Guzman, who owns UVapez Vapers in Allen, said she believes vaping saved her life. She smoked two and a half packs of cigarettes a day before she switched to vaping seven years ago.
Now Guzman, who has also developed her own blend of e-cigarette liquids, almost exclusively smokes a nicotine liquid that tastes like grape SweeTarts. Occasionally she’ll switch it up with a pomegranate green tea blend.
“I feel like we're not getting a fair shake,” Guzman said. “It comes down to illegal items people are vaping or consumers who are modifying their liquids.”
While Guzman credits vaping for helping her kick “analog cigarettes," e-cigarettes are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a tool to quit smoking, and according to the CDC, science is inconclusive on whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking.
In Dallas, Huang also stressed that non-smokers, young people and pregnant women should not vape.