Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb helps explain the Vaping Illness.

In a recent interview featured on CNBC, Ex-FDA chief Scott Gottlieb helped to clear up a lot of confusion on the recent vaping “epidemic”

“Now it seems clear that a lot of these vaping related illnesses, if not all of them are correlated to THC vapes”

He continues to elaborate on what it is about the THC vapes that are harmful to people’s health and why this illness is occurring.

 “they are putting oils in there that shouldn’t be in there and those oils are damaging people's lungs.”

“It now appears that some of the people who are selling these vapes are mixing oils into them to increase their viscosity because the thickness of the oils is seen as a measurable trait in terms of how potent it is. So they are putting oils in there that shouldn’t be in there and those oils are damaging people's lungs.”

Dr. Gottlieb points to the reports that have come from multiple states on the statistics and where he came to his statements.

“80% of those people in those situations had reported vaping THC. You could surmise that there is probably under-reporting” 

“The best analysis we have so far is out of the states of Illinois and Wisconsin which look very closely at the cases that they reported in those states. And fully 80% of those people in those situations had reported vaping THC. You could surmise that there is probably under-reporting. 5 to 10 percent of people don’t want to self-report, especially when they are in throes of an acute illness.”

80% being honest enough to admit to using a THC product actually gives me a lot of faith in this generation, especially considering that a lot of these cases involved minors. In my experience most kids do not like admitting to taking any type of drug. 

How did this vape controversy start to begin with?

The former FDA chief points the finger largely at the lack of regulation in the Cannabis/THC industry.

“I think what we need to do is have a federal law that can actually be enforced and allow federal regulatory authorities to impose appropriate supervision. What you have had grow up in these states is basically a wild west of unregulated products and now we are seeing the consequences of that.”

“These tragic illnesses demonstrate the harms that can happen when no one is minding the store.”

He also alludes to the black market that has been growing with the lack of regulation and that we will need federal power to keep these products safe.

 Nicotine vapes and eJuice already have more regulation.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb is a well-spoken individual and one of the few out there in the light who have utilized rational thinking rather than taking a reactionary approach to the vaping illness crisis. In this interview, he makes it clear that he personally doesn’t like the idea of recreational cannabis, but puts that aside to find a better solution through proper regulation. Here I strongly agree with him. The Nicotine vaping industry is subjected to very intense FDA restrictions and is constantly monitored.

Later in this at the tail end of the interview, another interviewer a study conducted on mice and tries to use it to demonize vaping once again. Gottlieb is quick to poke holes in this study and mentions other studies that counter this one. This portion of the conversation is ended with Gottlieb stating “I’m skeptical”. He elaborates further saying that he expects vaping to not be 100% risk-free, but his skepticism is not without reason. Check out our previous post on why animal vaping studies are not a good metric on the effects of vaping. Scientists warn of bogus animal studies; confirm improved lung health of vaping

If you want to check out the video for yourself, click here for the link.

If you are interested in the vaping regulations our industry must adhere to, please check out this link here.

If you are interested in the testing results of our products, click here

Please consider sharing this article with friends and on social media. Vaping has been hit very hard with a lot of misinformation. We have to help keep the real news that comes from experts front and center. 

-Cheers