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A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH VAPING: This year’s “vaping crisis” is really two separate but related developments, Kimberly writes in her latest piece for the Washington Examiner magazine: A big run-up in teen vaping, and an outbreak of deadly lung illnesses likely attributable to black-market vapes containing THC, the high-inducing chemical in marijuana.
Anti-smoking advocates have long worried about teen use of nicotine-filled e-cigarettes — about 4.1 million high school students and 1.2 million middle school students vape — and the fact that people have hurt themselves vaping THC has provided an opportunity for them to get the government on board.
“The fact that people are dying has created a greater sense of the need for urgent action across the board,” acknowledged Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “The fact that people are dying and we don’t know the answer means that every parent is terrified that their kid is at risk.
The spate of illnesses and deaths tied to vape products has put vapers on the defensive: They believe Congress and the administration should focus not on e-cigarettes used to vape nicotine, but instead on THC, which is mostly unregulated.
“Tough regulation of nicotine vaping products will do nothing to stop drug dealers from selling THC-contaminated products,” said Greg Conley, president of the nonprofit American Vaping Association.
Vape advocates argue that it would be bad to make it harder to use vaping as a cessation tool. After all, regular cigarettes cause about 480,000 deaths each year.
The government is slowly zeroing in on THC-related substances as the culprit. Last week, the Centers for Disease and Prevention pointed to Vitamin E acetate, found in black-market vapes containing THC, as possibly responsible for the outbreak of over 2,000 lung injuries and several dozen deaths — while also hedging that it was still too early to say for sure. Vitamin E acetate used as a thickening agent in THC vaping liquids and it’s toxic when inhaled. Researchers found it present in 23 out of 29 lung injury patients examined.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
TRUMP SIGNALS HE’S GETTING CLOSER TO SETTLING THE VAPING DEBATE: President Trump announced Monday he would be meeting with vaping industry representatives, medical professionals, and state leaders to weigh solutions to the teen vaping epidemic. In his tweet-announcement, he didn’t offer any further details, like when and where the meeting will happen. The administration also hasn’t released final guidance for a flavor ban, which Trump teased in September.
GOOGLE’S UNDER-THE-RADAR ‘PROJECT NIGHTINGALE’ HAS COLLECTED MILLIONS OF CLASSIFIED HEALTH RECORDS: Google and St. Louis-based Ascension health systems began collecting patient lab results, diagnoses, and hospitalization records last year as part of an initiative they coined “Project Nightingale,” the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. When the news broke Monday, Ascension and Google were quick to go on the defensive. Google Cloud president Tariq Shaukat wrote that everything they’re doing is HIPAA-compliant, and “cannot be used for any other purpose than for providing these services we’re offering under the agreement.” Shaukat said: “It’s understandable that people want to ask questions about our work with Ascension. We’re proud of the important work we’re doing as a cloud technology partner for healthcare companies.”
JIMMY CARTER HEADS INTO BRAIN SURGERY TUESDAY: Former President Jimmy Carter went into surgery this morning at Emory University Hospital for a procedure to alleviate pressure in his brain caused by recent falls. His falls, of which there have been three this year, caused bleeding in his brain, but a statement from the Carter Center said he’s comfortable and with his wife, Rosalynn.
JUUL IS CUTTING HUNDREDS OF JOBS AHEAD OF IMMINENT COMPANY LOSSES: Juul Labs will freeze hiring and cut about 650 jobs, about 16% of its total workforce, in anticipation of financial fallout from pulling popular mint pods — which account for about 70% of sales — off the market. It’s all part of the plan to cut $1 billion in costs, Bloomberg reports. Juul has been the subject of government scrutiny for marketing to teens, and has responded by halting lobbying efforts, reforming marketing techniques, and changing company leadership. Who knows what a possible Trump administration flavor ban could do to the San Francisco-based e-cigarette giant?
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION TO SCOTUS: RESCINDING DACA WOULD DEAL ‘A SEVERE BLOW TO THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM’: The Supreme Court is taking up the Trump administration’s plan to take away protection from deportation for about 700,000 immigrants Tuesday, which the American Medical Association said would be deleterious to the healthcare system. AMA president Patrice A. Harris said that rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, would “pose a threat to patients and public health.” She added: “An estimated 27,000 of these individuals, also known as “dreamers,” currently work in the health care field. Of these, nearly 200 are medical students, residents or physicians who rely on DACA to retain their eligibility to study and practice medicine.”
OPINION: ELIZABETH WARREN’S MOST AMBITIOUS CON
The Rundown
Stat It’s tiny biotechs — not big drug makers — that fear ‘nuclear winter’ from Pelosi’s drug pricing bill
Wall Street Journal Opinion: Abortion extremists hijack the U.N.
Politico Federal health contract funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump allies
Reuters Merck wins European approval for first-ever Ebola vaccine
The Washington Post Dept. of Veterans Affairs believes games can help soldiers reconnect, reduce suicides. Here’s how.
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Nov. 13
8 a.m. 1099 14th Street NW. Axios event on “Healthcare in 2020” including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Details.
10 a.m. Rayburn 2123 House Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee to markup legislation on tobacco, maternal mortality, and FDA citizen petitions. Details.
THURSDAY | Nov. 14
10 a.m. 1100 Longworth House Ways and Means Committee hosts hearing on caring for aging Americans. Details.
