Thailand confirmed its first case of vaping-linked lung injury (Evali) on Wednesday this week. Speaking to reporters Dr Winai Wananukul, the Mahidol University’s Ramathibodi Hospital Chief of the Internal Medicine Division said that the case identified early Wednesday was the first case of vaping-linked lung infection in the country.
Dr Winai said that the patient is a young male person in his mid-twenties who works in an office. He further added that while many cases of Evali had been diagnosed at the hospital this was the first case that was directly linked to the use of e-cigarettes. He warned that with the ease of access to e-cigarettes in the country more such cases are likely to be registered in the country soon.
The said case was diagnosed by Dr Tananchai Petnak a senior specialist doctor at the Ramathibodi Hospital. Dr Tananchai said that the patient who is in his twenties was admitted last month to the hospital. At the time of admission, he reported vomiting and breathing problems. The patient was then put on medication and the case was investigated thoroughly following the standard procedure for treating admitted patients.
According to Dr Tananchai, interviews with the patients revealed that the patient had been vaping multiple times a day over the last six months. The patient had given up smoking five years ago but turned to e-cigarettes after he was influenced by friends.
The high intensity of vaping the patient used is believed to be the cause of the lung injury ailment that he was admitted to the hospital for. Vaping products are known to contain higher levels of nicotine and many other chemicals that can injure the lungs and cause serious health complications. Vaping more frequently thus increases the risk of e-cigarette users contracting serious respiratory diseases.
According to Dr Naparat Amornputtisathaporn who is the Ramathibodi Hospital’s chief for the respiratory diseases and Critical Respiratory Treatment Unit when one vapes frequently, he inhales a lot of oils contained in e-cigarette liquids. This forces the lungs to work extra hard to eliminate these foreign substances. Essentially the human lungs are not designed to work with oils or liquid and solid particles. They are designed to process only air. Smoking cigarettes and vaping frequently bring a lot of foreign materials to the lungs all of these can cause lung infections that can be fatal if not treated properly.
In defence of their products e-cigarette manufacturers are now claiming that unapproved additives that many street vendors add to their products are to blame for the growing cases of vaping-linked lung infections in the world. This is true to some extent. Many unlicensed vaping products contain many harmful additives that can cause serious lung Problems. However, it is important to point out that many studies have been conducted on the health impact of inhaling unmixed (pure) e-liquids. Many of these studies show that e-liquids even in their purest form can still cause evali. This is because the human lungs are not designed to handle anything other than pure air. However, e-liquids used in e-cigarettes contain oils that end up in the human lungs and this can be harmful to the users.
