---
title: "The FDA Is Investigating Whether Vaping Causes Seizures"
description: "The FDA, the United States' consumer health watchdog, is now raising the alarm that e-cigarettes could be associated with dangerous seizures."
date: "2019-04-03"
modified: "2019-04-03"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-investigating-vaping-seizures"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "e-cigarettes"
  - "health"
  - "the digest"
  - "vaping"
---

# The FDA Is Investigating Whether Vaping Causes Seizures

![The FDA, the United States' consumer health watchdog, is now raising the alarm that they could be associated with dangerous seizures.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/fda-investigating-vaping-seizures.png>)
*\<em\>Image: KDS Photos via Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Vape Escape

Handheld vaporizers, or e-cigarettes, have gained enormous traction in recent years — but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States' consumer health watchdog, is now [raising the alarm](<https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/fda-warns-about-possible-risk-seizures-associated-e-cigarettes-n990446>) that the devices could be associated with dangerous seizures.

"We have reports indicating that some people who use e-cigarettes, especially youth and young adults, are experiencing seizures following their use," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a [statement](<https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm635157.htm>).

## Gilbert Vape

The FDA says in the statement that it's identified 35 incidents since 2010 in which people, mostly young adults and youths, experienced seizures after using e-cigarettes — a small number, according to the agency, but enough to merit exploring a possible connection.

Gottlieb has taken a strong stance against the nascent vaping industry during his time at the FDA, including a [crackdown on the popular brand JUUL](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-vape-flavors>) that led the e-cigarette company to [stop selling flavored pods](<https://futurism.com/juul-stop-selling-flavored-vape-juice>) in retail stores.

## Planet of the Vapes

The FDA was careful to temper expectations for the seizure investigation, pointing out that the link has yet to be formally established.

"We want to be clear that we don’t yet know if there’s a direct relationship between the use of e-cigarettes and a risk of seizure," the agency wrote in the statement. "We can’t yet say for certain that e-cigarettes are causing these seizures."

**READ MORE:** [FDA to investigate reports of seizures possibly linked to e-cigarette use](<https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/fda-warns-about-possible-risk-seizures-associated-e-cigarettes-n990446>) \[*NBC News*\]

**More on vaping:** *[The FDA Just Threatened to Crack Down on E-Cig Companies Like Juul](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-vape-flavors>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)