LUBBOCK, Texas — On Tuesday, a Lubbock resident responded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing an investigation notice warning against e-cigarette products.
Brittany Jones said she has vaped for a three or four years. She said she started using a vape after she decided she wanted to stop using cigarettes.
“I lived in a small town, so we didn’t really have anything to do, so we kind of started smoking at a young age,” Jones said.
Jones has a shoe box full of e-cigarette products. She said when she first heard about the CDC investigation, she was scared at first.
“I haven’t heard anything about it around here,” Jones said. “So it’s really not concerning me that bad.”
According to the CDC, as of Sept. 6, more than 450 possible cases of lung illness relating to e-cigarettes have been reported from across 33 states. Five deaths have also been confirmed.
The CDC said the organization is looking into products that can be linked to all cases, but have found that many patients report issues with e-cigarette products that contain cannabinoid substances, such as THC oil.
“I know a bunch of my friends who do that,” Jones said. “I don’t, ’cause I’m like, I don’t know, I’m not gonna put anything in my body that I don’t know what’s going in.”
Dr. Andrew Shakespeare, a pulmonologist with Covenant Health, said he would warn against vaping.
“There’s zero regulation and that’s the scary part of it and that’s the danger of it,” Shakespeare said.
Jones said she wants to stop vaping eventually, and admits she thought she was getting sick because of it.
“Eventually I probably will,” Jones said.
