MEDFORD, Ore.,--The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending not using e-cigarette products after 380 confirmed cases of lung disease in the U.S. 6 people have died including people from California and Oregon.
The CDC sent out a notice to dispensaries in the Rogue Valley recommending that youth and young adults do not use e-cigarette products. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission also sent out a notice to dispensaries, asking stores to display the notice to the public. Public Health officials are trying to determine a potential cause for this outbreak. Their focus now is Vitamin E additives, an ingredient in some nicotine and THC oil cartridges.
NewsWatch 12 talked with about a dozen dispensaries in the Rogue Valley today who say they're not pulling product off the shelf yet, but taking action to make sure their products are safe. The manager of Wicked Flower Shop, Danielle Baldwin, says they are waiting to hear from all their vendors.
"We are happy to say we've gotten a lot of testimonials from our vendors of these vape cartridges making sure that were aware that they're confident in the fact that they don't include those ingredients (Vitamin E additives)."
Another dispensary, La Mota, says they've been getting testimonials too, claiming that the vape pens they're selling our safe. They haven't heard from all their vendors yet, but they are waiting until the end of the week before they start pulling product off the shelf. They're posting the testimonies they do have in their store to assure customers those products are safe.
Both dispensaries say that if they become aware of any of their products containing the potentially hazardous ingredient, they'll have to stop selling it.
