At the same time a mysterious new respiratory illness has placed focus on e cigarettes and lung health, a New Jersey teen has filed a vaping lawsuit over his e cigarette nicotine addiction.

NJ.com reports that at age 16, the anonymous 19-year-old plaintiff says his classmates offered him the chance to try vaping. He immediately bought his own e cigarette and flavored nicotine cartridges at a local convenience store, his complaint states, and within a year, the teen was going through two cartridges of vaping liquid a day, even sleeping with the e cigarette in his bed so he could vape as soon as he awakened.

He blames JUUL e cigarettes for allegedly concealing that vaping liquids contain nicotine, which the plaintiff says led to his addiction.

According to the young man’s complaint, he has tried to quit vaping, but the mood swings and irritability he suffers become unbearable.

A number of lawsuits have been filed by older teens and young adults claiming they would never have tried e cigarettes had they known the vaping liquids contained addictive nicotine. Many of the teens say they thought they were just inhaling flavored water vapor.

Several e cigarette vaping cartridges reportedly contain more nicotine than an entire pack of cigarettes. In addition, potentially dangerous chemical flavorings are added to many vaping cartridges.

Effects of E Cigarettes and Lung Health

More than 215 cases of a mysterious and potentially life-threatening lung illness linked to vaping have been seen across the U.S. throughout the summer. According to the New York Times, patients suffering from the illness usually arrive at an emergency room with shortness of breath, dizziness, fever, fatigue, and vomiting.

Chest x-rays show lung damage that appears as dense, white cloud-looking formations that are typically indications of pneumonia, severe inflammation or fluid-filled lungs.

At least one death has reportedly been attributed to the vaping lung illness, and several teens and young adults have been placed on ventilators to assist in breathing.

Because many of these teens don’t want to risk getting in trouble with their parents, they are skittish about admitting that they vape at all. Their hesitation to share what they have vaped is hindering authorities’ ability to diagnose the link between e cigarettes and lung health.

According to the New York Times, health authorities need answers to the following questions:

• Has some specific, fast-acting substance been added to a batch of vaping cartridges?
• Are people reusing cartridges that could be contaminated with toxins?
• Are the patients unusually heavy vapers?
• Are the patients modifying the vaping liquids or buying bootleg liquids that might contain dangerous contaminants?

Vaping liquids, whether they contain nicotine or marijuana’s THC component, consist of solvents and chemicals that help the active ingredients become vaporized. Some of the solvents are oil-based, which means that as they start to cool, they return to liquid form. If oil droplets are inhaled, they can cause serious breathing issues.

New York state health officials have reportedly found vitamin E oil in some of the vaping liquids used by patients with the severe lung disease. Some brands of cannabidiol (CBD) oil have vitamin E added, but CBD oils are not designed for vaping. Most use coconut oil or essential oils as the suspension and delivery base for CBD oil products that are taken orally.

Utah’s KTLA-TV reported that a 31-year-old father of three was placed on life support on Aug. 21 after he was placed in a medically-induced coma. Doctors diagnosed Sean Bills with lipoid pneumonia, a type of pneumonia most often caused by the inhalation of oily fat-based particles. His wife Tiffani said the two of them have been vaping for two years. After seeing what her husband is going through, Tiffani stopped vaping immediately.

Learn More

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.