在吸食大麻的人群中，維生素E被懷疑與嚴(yán)重的肺病有關(guān)

在吸食大麻的人群中，維生素E被懷疑與嚴(yán)重的肺病有關(guān)

It's still a mystery — what's causing the cluster of severe respiratory illnesses among people who've used e-cigarettes? The FDA says there have been at least 215 reported cases in 25 states.

這仍然是一個(gè)謎——是什么導(dǎo)致了使用電子煙的人患上一系列嚴(yán)重的呼吸道疾病?美國(guó)食品藥品監(jiān)督管理局表示，在25個(gè)州至少有215例報(bào)告病例。

Nearly three dozen of those cases are in New York state, and investigators there say they are now regarding vitamin E as a possible culprit. Health officials say state lab tests detected high levels of vitamin E in cartridges of cannabis vaping products used by people who vaped and suffered serious lung damage.

紐約州有近36個(gè)這樣的病例，那里的調(diào)查人員說，他們現(xiàn)在認(rèn)為維生素E可能是罪魁禍?zhǔn)?。衛(wèi)生官員表示，國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室檢測(cè)發(fā)現(xiàn)，吸食大麻并遭受嚴(yán)重肺部損傷的人所使用的大麻電子煙產(chǎn)品的煙管中含有高水平的維生素E。

Vitamin E is usually safe as a dietary supplement or cream, but vaping it could be harmful, according to state health Commissioner Howard Zucker.

美國(guó)國(guó)家衛(wèi)生專員霍華德·朱克表示，維生素E作為膳食補(bǔ)充劑或奶油通常是安全的，但電子煙可能有害。

When it is "inhaled deep in the lung, [it] can cause problems," Zucker tells NPR. He says the lab has found very high amounts of vitamin E in 13 of the patient-submitted cartridges they've analyzed. "As high as even 50 percent of the liquid that is in the vaping [cartridge]."

朱克告訴美國(guó)國(guó)家公共電臺(tái)，當(dāng)它“被吸入肺部深處，(它)可能會(huì)引起問題。”他說，實(shí)驗(yàn)室在他們分析的13個(gè)病人提交的煙管中發(fā)現(xiàn)了非常高的維生素E含量。“甚至高達(dá)電子煙(藥筒)中液體的50%。”

It was not found in cartridges from patients that contained only nicotine. It's not clear whether some patients vaped both cannabis and nicotine products.

Zucker also notes that they haven't ruled out other substances, and the Food and Drug Administration says it isn't convinced that vitamin E is to blame.

在僅含尼古丁的病人煙管中沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)這種物質(zhì)。目前還不清楚一些患者是否同時(shí)吸大麻和尼古丁產(chǎn)品。朱克還指出，他們還沒有排除其他物質(zhì)，美國(guó)食品和藥物管理局表示，它不相信維生素E是罪魁禍?zhǔn)住?/p>

"More information is needed to better understand whether there's a relationship between any specific products or substances and the reported illnesses," FDA senior adviser Michael Felberbaum says in an emailed statement Thursday.

美國(guó)食品和藥物管理局的高級(jí)顧問米歇爾菲爾伯鮑姆在周四的一份電子郵件聲明中說:“要更好地了解特定產(chǎn)品或物質(zhì)是否與報(bào)告的疾病有關(guān)系還需要更多的信息。”

"The number of samples we have received continues to increase and we now have over 100 samples for testing," Felberbaum says. "The FDA is analyzing samples submitted by the states for the presence of a broad range of chemicals, including nicotine, THC and other cannabinoids along with cutting agents/diluents and other additives, pesticides, opioids, poisons and toxins. No one substance, including Vitamin E acetate, has been identified in all of the samples."

菲爾伯鮑姆說:“我們收到的樣本數(shù)量繼續(xù)增加，現(xiàn)在我們有100多個(gè)樣本在進(jìn)行檢測(cè)。美國(guó)食品藥品監(jiān)督管理局正在分析各州提交的樣本中是否含有多種化學(xué)物質(zhì)，包括尼古丁、四氫大麻酚和其他大麻素，以及切削劑/稀釋劑和其他添加劑、殺蟲劑、阿片類藥物、毒藥和毒素。在所有的樣本中（包括維生素E醋酸鹽）沒有一種物質(zhì)被發(fā)現(xiàn)。”

Vitamin E is not an approved additive for vape products approved by New York's medical marijuana program, and Zucker says the cartridges they tested appear to be "black-market" products purchased off the street — not in medical dispensaries.

維生素E并不是紐約醫(yī)用大麻項(xiàng)目批準(zhǔn)的電子煙產(chǎn)品的添加劑，朱克說，他們測(cè)試的煙管似乎是在街頭購買的“黑市”產(chǎn)品，而不是在藥房購買的。

"This is a situation of people buying products that have been laced with markedly elevated amounts of vitamin E," Zucker says.

朱克說:“這是一種人們購買含有大量維生素E的產(chǎn)品的情況。”

"We urge the public to be vigilant about any vaping products that they or any family members may be using and to immediately contact their health care provider if they develop any unusual symptoms" he says in the health department statement. "In general, vaping of unknown substances is dangerous, and we continue to explore all options to combat this public health issue."

他在衛(wèi)生部的聲明中說:“我們提醒公眾對(duì)他們自己或任何家庭成員可能使用的任何電子煙產(chǎn)品保持警惕，如果他們出現(xiàn)任何不同尋常的癥狀，請(qǐng)立即聯(lián)系他們的醫(yī)療服務(wù)人員。”“總的來說，吸不明物質(zhì)的電子煙是危險(xiǎn)的，我們將繼續(xù)探索所有解決這一公共衛(wèi)生問題的方法。”

Zucker says the number of cases of vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses has been rising, and that people who vape should be warned not to buy unregulated products purchase off the street. "These unregulated products are not tested and may contain harmful substances," the department warns.

朱克說，與電子煙有關(guān)的肺部疾病的病例一直在上升，應(yīng)該警告吸電子煙的人不要在街上購買不受管制的產(chǎn)品。該部門警告稱:“這些不受監(jiān)管的產(chǎn)品沒有經(jīng)過檢測(cè)，可能含有有害物質(zhì)。”

On Wednesday, Oregon officials reported that a middle-aged adult who died of a severe pulmonary illness in late July had used a cannabis product purchased from one of Oregon's state-regulated marijuana stores. That case is under investigation. The death of a second person was reported in Illinois in late August.

周三，俄勒岡州官員報(bào)告稱，7月底，一名中年人死于嚴(yán)重肺部疾病，他使用了從俄勒岡州一家大麻商店購買的大麻產(chǎn)品，而這家商店受州監(jiān)管。那件事正在調(diào)查中。據(jù)報(bào)道，8月底伊利諾斯州又有一人死亡。