The Minnesota Department of Health found illicit THC vaping products from 2019 contained vitamin E acetate, while products from 2018 did not, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published Nov. 26.
The new findings support national evidence linking vitamin E acetate to the recent string of lung injuries, announced by the CDC Nov. 8.
The MDH Public Health Laboratory analyzed illicit THC products seized by local law enforcement officials in 2018 and 2019. All 20 of the 2019 products included vitamin E acetate, while no vitamin E acetate was found in the five cartridges from 2018.
The MDH lab also examined illicit THC products from 12 lung-injury patients and found vitamin E acetate in 11 of the 12 patients' products. The other patient used multiple vaping products, some of which weren't available for testing. Of all 46 illicit THC products owned by the 12 patients, more than half (52 percent) contained vitamin E acetate.
Further testing of pre-2019 products is needed, along with more research assessing how vitamin E acetate could cause lung injury and considering the role of other components.