Research & Commentary: Connecticut Health Department Lacks Transparency When Reporting Vaping-Related Hospitalizations

Published October 16, 2019

On August 21, 2019 the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported two cases of vaping-related hospitalizations involving patients who admitted to vaping “both nicotine and marijuana products.” On September 19, CDPH confirmed 11 more cases, for a grand total of 13. Of these, CDPH interviewed nine patients, who all admitted “using vaping products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive component of the marijuana plant.” Alarmingly, and curiously, CDPH press releases on October 3 and October 11 did not mention anything about which substances individuals vaped prior to hospitalizations.

CDPH’s lack of transparency is alarming and misleads the American public to the harms, or lack of, associated with legal and regulated e-cigarettes. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found a majority of vaping-related hospitalizations were due to vaping THC products. On October 3, CDC announced 78 percent of patients with vaping-related illnesses “reported using THC-containing products.” Similar results have been reported by health departments in Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Utah.

It is imperative lawmakers understand these illegal, unregulated THC-laden “vaping cartridges,” which are mostly homemade or available on the black market, are not e-cigarette products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). E-cigarettes and vaping devices first entered the U.S. market in 2007. In 2012, FDA was granted authority to regulate vaping devices as tobacco products. In 2016, FDA extended its regulatory authority over e-cigarettes, issuing deeming regulations. Under these rules, no new vaping product could come to market after August 8, 2016, without first completing a premarket tobacco application (PMTA). Further, all existing vaping devices must have been registered and approved by FDA by December 31, 2016. In addition, all legal products must complete a PMTA by May 12, 2020, as established by a 2019 U.S. District Court ruling. This will have drastic effects on current vaping products because each PMTA costs about $330,000.

Despite recent fearmongering campaigns by the media and public health groups, e-cigarettes have emerged as an effective tobacco harm reduction tool. Since their introduction in the United States, an estimated three million American adults have used vaping devices to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes. Further, e-cigarettes are twice as effective as nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit.

Numerous public health agencies have found e-cigarettes to be significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes. In 2015, Public Health England (PHE), a leading health agency in the United Kingdom, found e-cigarette use to be “around 95% safer than smoking.” In 2018, PHE reiterated their findings, noting that vaping is “at least 95% less harmful than smoking.”

In 2016, the Royal College of Physicians noted that e-cigarettes are “unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco.” In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded e-cigarette use results in “reduced short-term adverse health outcomes in several organs.”

Most recently, in June 2019, the American Cancer Society found “e-cigarette use [is] significantly less harmful for adults than smoking regular cigarettes […] because e-cigarettes do not contain or burn tobacco.”  

Moreover, e-cigarettes can provide much-needed relief to state budgets because their use reduces health care costs related to smoking. A 2015 policy analysis by State Budget Solutions estimated Medicaid savings could have amounted to $48 billion in 2012 if e-cigarettes had been adopted in place of combustible cigarettes by all Medicaid recipients who smoked combustible cigarettes. A 2017 study by R Street Institute used a samples size of “1% of smokers [within Medicaid] groups permanently” switching. In this analysis, the authors estimated that Medicaid savings “will be approximately $2.8 billion per 1 percent of enrollees,” over the next 25 years.

Making matters worse, far too many policymakers seek to reduce youth e-cigarette use, yet spend little tobacco revenue on such programs. Notably, Connecticut sued tobacco companies in 1996 to recover costs to Medicaid spent on smoking-related health effects. In 1998, the Constitution State joined several other states in settling with tobacco companies in what became known as “The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).” The Nutmeg State is estimated to receive “between $3.6 and 5 billion over the first 25 years” in MSA payments.  Despite this, Connecticut lawmakers continue to shortchange anti-smoking efforts. In 2019, Connecticut received an estimated $500.8 million in tobacco settlement payments and taxes, yet dedicated $0 of state funds towards smoking education and prevention programs.

As CDC and state health departments continue to link vaping lung illnesses to the use of unregulated, illegal e-cigarette products containing THC, CDPH should completely stop lumping regulated e-cigarettes into the same category. Further, the use of electronic cigarettes as a tobacco harm reduction tool should be encouraged, and any policy aimed at reducing youth e-cigarette use should utilize vast amounts of readily available tobacco revenue, rather than vaporize tobacco harm reduction options for current adult smokers.

The following documents provide more information on electronic cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction.

Tobacco Harm Reduction 101: A Guidebook for Policymakers
https://heartland.org/publications-resources/publications/latest-heartland-policy-booklet-addresses-vaping-myths
This booklet from The Heartland Institute aims to inform key stakeholders on the much-needed information on the benefits of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices. Tobacco Harm Reduction 101 details the history of e-cigarettes, including regulatory actions on these products. The booklet also explains the role of nicotine, addresses tax policy and debunks many of the myths associated with e-cigarettes, including assertions about “popcorn lung,” formaldehyde, and the so-called youth vaping epidemic.

Podcast Series: Voices of Vapers
https://heartland.org/multimedia/podcasts?fromDate=&toDate=&q=voices+of+vapers
In this weekly podcast series, State Government Relations Manager Lindsey Stroud talks with researchers, advocates, and policymakers about tobacco harm reduction and electronic cigarettes. The series provides important information about the thousands of entrepreneurs who have started small businesses thanks to THRs and the millions of adults that have used electronic cigarettes and vaping devices to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Vaping, E-Cigarettes, and Public Policy Toward Alternatives to Smoking
https://heartland.org/publications-resources/publications/vaping-e-cigarettes-and-public-policy-toward-alternatives-to-smoking
For decades, lawmakers and regulators have used taxes, bans, and burdensome regulations as part of their attempt to reduce the negative health effects of smoking. Recently, some have sought to extend those policies to electronic cigarettes. This booklet from The Heartland Institute urges policymakers to re-think that tax-and-regulate strategy. Policymakers should be mindful of the extensive research that supports tobacco harm reduction and understand bans, excessive regulations, and high taxes on e-cigarettes often encourage smokers to continue using more-harmful traditional cigarette products.

Research & Commentary: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Link Major of Vaping-Related Hospitalizations to THC Product
https://heartland.org/publications-resources/publications/research–commentary-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-link-majority-of-vaping-related-hospitalizations-to-thc-products
In this Research & Commentary, Heartland State Government Relations Manager Lindsey Stroud examines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report which found nearly 77 percent of vaping-related hospitalizations are due to the use of tetrahydrocannabinol products. These findings are similar to what have been reported in other states, including Connecticut, Oregon, Texas, and Utah.

Research & Commentary: Public Health Officials Urge Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
https://heartland.org/publications-resources/publications/public-health-officials-urge-use-of-electronic-nicotine-delivery-systems
In this Research & Commentary, Heartland Institute State Government Relations Manager Lindsey Stroud notes the importance of NHS Health Scotland’s joint statement encouraging the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as an alternative to tobacco products. NHS Health Scotland, Public Health England, and other groups have found ENDS are 95 percent less harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

Research & Commentary: Study Finds E-Cigarettes Would Prevent 6.6 Million Premature Deaths
https://heartland.org/publications-resources/publications/research–commentary-study-finds-e-cigarettes-would-prevent-66-million-premature-deaths
Heartland Institute State Government Relations Manager Lindsey Stroud examines an October 2017 Tobacco Control study that found electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) might help extend life for millions of people. The authors of the study found there was an estimated 6.6 million fewer deaths and more than 86 million fewer-life-years lost over a 10-year period because of ENDS products. Stroud concludes the use of ENDS could also help improve the budgets of numerous state programs, including Medicaid.

E-Cigarette Primer for State and Local Lawmakers
http://heartland.org/policy-documents/e-cigarette-primer-state-and-local-lawmakers
Dr. Joel Nitzkin, a senior fellow in tobacco policy for the R Street Institute, provides evidence e-cigarettes work as a tobacco harm reduction modality and reviews the arguments against them. He closes with recommendations for actions state and local lawmakers should and should not consider regarding tobacco harm reduction and e-cigarettes.

Nothing in this Research & Commentary is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of The Heartland Institute. For further information on this and other topics, visit the Budget & Tax News website, The Heartland Institute’s website, our Consumer Freedom Lounge, and PolicyBot, Heartland’s free online research database.

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