ENDS EVALI VALI THCVALI

Studies, Surveys, Papers, and Case Studies

• Sometimes it's necessary to view the PDF version to access the full study.
• EVALI / VALI / THCVALI was originally blamed by some experts on the use of nicotine vapor products. It was proven that it was caused by illicit THC (marijuana / cannabis) cartridges, not nicotine products. It appears that most of the cases were caused by Vitamin E, which was used as a cutting and thickening agent to lower manufacturing costs and to make the products appear to be high quality. On this page, we will chronicle the studies and media covering the truth about the cause of this illness that caused several deaths in the United States.
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  • Topic
  • Year (list new to old) Name of Study (In link format to the study)
  • Note here if animal study (leave blank if not)
  • Brief Summary
  • Link to PDF Version
  • Citation
  • Acknowledgements (funded by, helped by)
  • Keywords
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Studies

2020 - July 22: NEWS THAT TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY: RISK PERCEPTIONS DURING AN OUTBREAK OF VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURIES

The increase in e-cigarette risk perceptions might discourage adult smokers from using e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking, despite evidence from a clinical trial that ecigarettes are a more effective cessation method than FDA-approved products such as the nicotine patch. Our econometric results suggest that the immediate impact of the first information shock was to increase the fraction of respondents who perceived e-cigarettes as more harmful than smoking by about 16 percentage points. More targeted advice about the risks of THC e-cigarettes (vs nicotine products) might have more effectively reduced the use of those products, potentially preventing EVALI cases.

• PDF Version
• Citation: Dave, D., Dench, D., Kenkel, D. et al. News that takes your breath away: risk perceptions during an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries. J Risk Uncertain 60, 281–307 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-020-09329-2
• Acknowledgement: Dhaval Dave acknowledges support through grant R01DA039968 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The authors are grateful to Cornell University and the Health Thought Leadership Network at Bentley University for funding the data collection.

2019 - December 20: Vitamin E Acetate in Bronchoalveolar-Lavage Fluid Associated with EVALI

• Updated February 20, 2020
• Among the case patients for whom laboratory or epidemiologic data were available, 47 of 50 (94%) had detectable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or its metabolites in BAL fluid or had reported vaping THC products in the 90 days before the onset of illness.
• Vitamin E acetate was associated with EVALI in a convenience sample of 51 patients in 16 states across the United States.
• PDF Version
• Citation: See Study
• Acknowledgement: Supported by a grant (P50CA180908) from the National Cancer Institute and a grant (P30CA016058) from the FDA Center for Tobacco Products; and by Ohio State University Pelotonia Intramural Research.

Media

2019 - October 29: US vaping deaths linked to THC - not nicotine

• A series of vaping deaths in the US have been linked to THC, the illegal psychoactive compound in cannabis, and not legal nicotine.

More Information

See the following Safer Nicotine Wiki pages

• Myth Busting
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