Vaping News

Bragging About Ecig Dangers

Fort Bragg soldiers appear to be suffering from unique vaping ailments.

Share on:
United States military leaders at Fort Bragg have initiated a war on vaping. In a questionable move, grounded in exceptionally dubious science, the base’s Womack Medical Centre has issued a public warning regarding “vape oils containing unknown substances”.

Staff at the Womack Army Medical Centre claim to have treated more than twenty-four soldiers for issues caused by vaping. The symptoms being reported range from intense headaches to life-threatening seizures. It doesn’t end there as staff assert that “dozens more” have been treated at Camp Lejeune’s Naval Medical Centre too – with soldiers claiming to have lost consciousness, suffered an uncontrollable seizure, and been struck by amnesia – bringing the total to in excess of sixty serving people.

Lieutenant Colonel Pamela DiPatrizio is the chief nursing officer at Womack’s emergency centre. She said: “It is a big concern as we’re worried about their safety. Theirs and the community.”

She said that Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune are coordinating with the North Carolina Department of Health and the Centres for Disease Control (CDC). She believes the issue is all down to “vaping oils”, and that eliquid acts like synthetic cannabis products like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The problem arises, she mistakenly claims, because vaping is unregulated.

Unsurprisingly, Colonel Ken Shaw agrees with her: “They aren’t regulated and we don’t know if they’re safe. And you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting.”

Their warning states: “Although some vape oils may contain CBD oil, CBD, THC, and/or synthetic cannabinoids, many vape oils do not disclose that they may contain illegal and/or potentially hazardous substances to include synthetic cannabinoids.”

Official advice to the military is that “e-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people and harm others,” and that “scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking.”

Eyebrows have to be raised given that the incidents appear to be wholly unique to these military sites, and would indicate that the issue isn’t to do with vaping but with soldiers misusing substances. This hasn’t prevented them producing a highly informative video though:

Dave Cross avatar

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV
View Articles

Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.

Join the discussion

Product

Parliament Fears Two

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs faced questions from a Conservative MP and, oddly, a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Vaping News

Harm Reduction For The Rich

The United Kingdom risks becoming a harm reduction country only for the wealthy, according to Michael Landl of the World Vapers’ Alliance

Vaping News

Sacrificing Health For 2p Cut

Tory Government alienates vaping voters with its mission to cut tax by an unaffordable 2p to attract voters by placing a tax on vape products in the forthcoming budget

Vaping News

Scotland Announces Single-Use Vape Action

A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland is due to come into effect on 1 April 2025, under proposed legislation published today