Washington (AFP)
Dozens of people, mostly teenagers, have been hospitalized in the United States for lung diseases in recent weeks. The common point between these patients: vaping, even if it is not proven that the electronic cigarette is the cause of their problems.
Health services in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, states in the north of the country, reported cases of coughing, breathing difficulties, fatigue or dizziness. Once in the hospital, the patients had to be intubated.
Thirty cases have been identified and another 22 are being investigated.
According to officials in these three states, it is too early to determine if these ailments are related.
"At the moment, vaping is the only common point between all these cases, but we try to extend our research to determine with certainty that we do not forget anything," explained to AFP Thomas Haupt, specialist problems of the Wisconsin Health Service.
Some of the youth have also been vaping cannabis.
Electronic cigarettes have been available since 2006 in the United States and scientists estimate that they are less toxic than traditional cigarettes.
In the United States, they are very popular among young people: 3.6 million middle and high school students have smoked them in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
© 2019 AFP