Nicotine vaping was not the cause of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury in the United States.

Introduction:
This text discusses the cause of the EVaLI (E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use-associated Lung Injury) outbreak in the United States and the misconceptions surrounding the role of nicotine vaping in the outbreak. The text also highlights the impact of inaccurate information on public health and policy. The reader will learn about the causes of EVaLI, the underreporting of ThC use, temporal and geographical patterns of the outbreak, misdiagnosis of EVaLI, miscommunication of EVaLI risk by health authorities, and the main message of the text.

Key Points:

* EVaLI was caused by vaping black-market ThC oils contaminated with vitamin E acetate.
* Some cases of EVaLI reported vaping nicotine only due to fear of legal or social consequences or misdiagnosis.
* ThC use was likely underreported during the EVaLI outbreak.
* The localized geography and temporal pattern of the outbreak suggest a contaminated supply chain of illicit ThC products.
* No verified cases of EVaLI from vaping nicotine before or after the outbreak.
* Confirmed cases of EVaLI occurred almost exclusively in North america.
* Misinformation about vaping and EVaLI can have deadly effects and discourage smokers from switching to vaping.

Main Message:
The main message of the text is that nicotine vaping was not the cause of the EVaLI outbreak in the United States. The inaccurate information and miscommunication of the causes of EVaLI by health authorities and media can have a negative impact on public health. It is essential to provide accurate information about the risks and benefits of nicotine vaping to avoid discouraging smokers from switching to vaping as a harm reduction strategy.

Mendelsohn CP, Wodak a, hall W. Nicotine vaping was not the cause of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury in the United States. Drug and alcohol review. 2023;42(2):258-261. doi:10.1111/dar.13533