--- title: "Remember Vape Lung? It’s Still Happening." description: "Vape Lung, or EVALI, never actually went away. The CDC stopped tracking cases in February, but a small number continue to pop up." date: "2020-11-25" modified: "2020-11-25" authors: - name: "Dan Robitzski" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/remember-vape-lung-still-happening" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "medicine" - "vape lung" --- # Remember Vape Lung? It’s Still Happening. ![Vape Lung, or EVALI, never actually went away. The CDC stopped tracking cases in February, but a small number continue to pop up.]() *\Image: Needpix/Victor Tangermann\* Remember "vape lung"? The dangerous respiratory illness, which caused a small media circus in mid-2019, may seem like a relic from a simpler time. But the condition — officially dubbed "e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury," or EVALI — never actually went away. The condition, often linked to illegally-sold THC vapes, can cause symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath and lung damage. It understandably got knocked down a few positions on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) list of priorities after COVID-19 swept the globe. The CDC stopped tracking EVALI in February 2020, at which point there were 2,807 confirmed cases and 68 deaths, [but *Gizmodo* reports]() that state and local governments have continued to track the outbreak. California reported [eight EVALI patients]() in April. Another 11 were identified [in Minnesota]() in July. Those numbers are pitiful next to the devastation of [the coronavirus pandemic](), but they illustrate that EVALI was never fully resolved and that illicit vapes are still a serious health hazard. Interestingly, *Gizmodo* reports that vape lung cases seem to be lower in states that legalized or decriminalized THC, suggesting that providing a legal alternative could help THC smokers avoid EVALI. Indeed, some experts have said that a cutting agent found only in illicit THC vapes rather than vaping as a whole. But the relationship remains muddy, with a significant [fraction of cases]() having been [linked to legally-sourced]() THC and [even nicotine e-cigarettes ]()— so legalization alone may not eradicate vape lung for good. So for now, it might be best to avoid vaping anything. ## Author Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California. ### Author social links [Twitter]()