Boston, MA: An analysis of nearly 100 regulated THC vape products by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) failed to detect the presence of vitamin E acetate (oil).

In November, the US Centers for Disease Control identified vitamin E acetate as a "very strong culprit of concern" in EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury). Illicit market manufacturers have been purported to include the oil as an additive in an effort to thicken the consistency of their e-liquids and to mask dilution.

Of the 91 product samples tested by the CCC, none were positive for detectable levels of vitamin E. A separate analysis of vape products, commissioned weeks earlier by MCR Laboratories, similarly report finding no evidence of vitamin E in state-regulated vapor products, but did identify the oil in some counterfeit vape cartridges.

In recent days, Massachusetts regulators have lifted bans on the retail sale of certain THC vapor products. Under the new rules, THC vape products sold at licensed retail facilities are now required to be inspected for the presence of vitamin E acetate and must have been manufactured after December 12.

On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control announced that just under 2,300 Americans have been hospitalized as a result of EVALI. The agency has yet to definitively determine if vitamin E is solely responsible for the illness.

The CDC’s latest advisory is online.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

