Health agencies in Canada monitoring vaping-related lung disease cases in US

Canadian health agencies are monitoring recent cases of lung disease in the US that have been linked to vaping.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, Dr Robert Strang, said he and his colleagues from across Canada are on alert.

It comes after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration in the US announced they were investigating 193 potential cases of severe lung illness associated with e-cigarette use in 22 states.

They were reported between June 28 and Aug. 20 of 2019.

Dr Strang said surveillance is being strengthened and he is sending informal email inquiries to respiratory specialists and intensive care units at Nova Scotia hospitals to see if there are reports of similar cases.

Strang added that Health Canada was already looking at strengthening its regulations around e-cigarettes prior to the American health scare, and officials are working on draft regulations that would strengthen protections for young people in particular.

He said they are also looking at provincial regulations to see if they can be strengthened.

Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed they are actively monitoring the recent clusters of acute pulmonary illnesses and one death reportedly linked to the use of vaping products in the United States.

Maryse Durette, a spokeswoman for the two agencies, said Canadian health officials have not yet seen evidence of similar pulmonary illness clusters occurring in Canada.

Durette added that Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are in close contact with counterparts in the United States, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, to "better understand their investigation into the illnesses being observed."

– With files from Canadian Press