The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have seized and shut down more than 40 websites offering illegal vape for sale. The action comes as part of a campaign to contain an epidemic of vape-related lung disease that has affected over 2,500 and taken 54 lives.

Who Has Toxic Vape for Sale?

Most of the vape products associated with what has come to be known as E-cigarette and Vape Associated Lung Illness (EVALI) are illicit, home-brewed cannabis formulations, sold under the “Dank Vapes” label. Attempts to locate an actual company called “Dank Vapes” have proved fruitless; it appears to be nothing more than packaging that until recently, could easily be purchased online and used to package bootleg products. The adjective “dank” has long been used by cannabis users to describe and strain of marijuana that is exceptionally potent.

Among the online vape merchant websites that were recently seized and shut down are DankVapeCartShop.com, VapeCartridgeStore.com, and VapeDank.com. According to FDA officials, a number of these websites were nothing more than fronts for scammers who took customers’ money with no intention of delivering products. The FDA and DEA were able to identify these websites with the assistance of EVALI victims and their families.

What’s In Your Vape?

This is a question the FDA has been attempting to answer. Cannabis vape for sale on the black market has been found to contain Vitamin E acetate, or tocopherol. This is a common nutritional supplement that bootleggers use as a filler to extend their supplies and increase their profit margin. While this substance is harmless and even beneficial when applied to skin; it also has antioxidant properties. However, taken into the lungs, vitamin E acetate has a devastating effect, coating the inner surfaces of the lungs.

Although much remains unknown, doctors believe that vitamin E acetate affects the inner lining of the lungs, impairing their ability to expand. Another possible explanation is a chemical, known as ketene, which is released when vitamin E acetate is heated. A number of physicians have noted similarities between EVALI and industrial respiratory injuries caused by exposure to toxic fumes.

Not the Only Culprit

The majority of THC vape for sale that was marketed through illegal websites contained concentrations of vitamin E acetate of up to 88 percent. Nearly 200 nicotine-based vape products analyzed by the FDA have not contained any traces of the substance. However, that does not mean nicotine vape is necessarily safe. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control says that simply because vape does not contain vitamin E acetate “…doesn’t mean there aren’t other substances in e-cigarettes or vaping products that can or are causing lung injury.”

Current research at the CDC is focused on the fumes released by e-cigarettes and how these affect respiratory function. At the same time, the FDA is analyzing over 1,200 samples gathered from across the nation, looking for a wide range of chemical substances. Although vitamin E acetate is the prime suspect, the agency says that so far, none of the illnesses can be attributed to a single substance.