Federal and state investigators found that many of the illicit THC cartridges supplied by patients with the disorder contained large amounts of tocopherol acetate, also known as vitamin E acetate. New York state authorities say this compound is the focus of the current investigation.
The Washington Post headlined the story, calling the compound an oil. It’s not an oil (though it may look like one), but it can still cause serious lung damage. The possibility that tocopherol acetate could be at the root of the recent respiratory scare was raised by Leafly’s David Downs in an August 30 article.
Tocopherol acetate is commonly used in lotions, soaps, and cosmetics, and is not meant to be inhaled. However, according to Leafly, it appears to be the main ingredient in a diluent called Honey Cut, popular with black market hash oil makers. Honey Cut is mixed with cannabis flower oil to dilute the finished product, allowing it to fill more cartridges (which are then smuggled out).
Honey Cut's website, which has no address or contact information, was taken down last Thursday evening.
According to The Post, this information was shared by federal investigators earlier this week in a brief phone call with state authorities. And the results are consistent with tests previously conducted by the New York Department of Health.
“We knew New York had found vitamin E acetate from testing, but the fact that the FDA included it in the overall testing plan is what caught our attention,” an anonymous agency official told the Post.
“At least one vape product containing vitamin E acetate has been linked to a patient who submitted the product for testing,” said a New York State Department of Health official. “Vitamin E acetate is currently the primary lead in the agency’s investigation into the recent respiratory illness.” There are currently 34 cases under investigation.
A researcher from the University of Rochester told POLITICO that vitamin E acetate could not have caused lipoid pneumonia in the patients he examined because the liquid was not oil. A Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor told the Post that vitamin E acetate is actually a fat. When you heat it up and it vaporizes, it breaks down. “Now you don’t know what you’re putting in your lungs,” she said. When it cools, vitamin E acetate reverts to its original state and sticks to the lung walls.
Aside from lipoid pneumonia, there are likely many causes of the recent lung outbreak. Some cases may be due to other fungi. In a series of earlier tweets, Professor Konstantinos Farsalinos advised against jumping to conclusions.
More than 200 cases are being investigated nationwide, and there have been two deaths, one in Illinois and one in Oregon. The Oregon patient appears to have used cannabis-infused vape oil purchased from a dispensary, the first case involving a legal product.
It’s clear that nicotine vaping products have nothing to do with the lung outbreak you’re seeing. But the FDA and CDC continue to warn against vaping and refuse to directly address the cause. As we said last week, the federal agencies are using language that confuses the public rather than language that all vapers can understand.
