Tennessee Department of Health Tragically Misleads the Public in Order to Falsely Blame a Death on E-Cigarettes

Sadly, Tennessee recently experienced its first death from vaping-associated respiratory illness.

Here's how the Tennessee Department of Health reported it: "The Tennessee Department of Health has reported one death in a patient with serious respiratory disease associated with use of electronic cigarettes or other vaping devices. This is the first such death reported in Tennessee."

So which one was it? Was it the use of "electronic cigarettes" or was it the use of "other vaping devices." If the Tennessee Department of Health truly wants to prevent further cases of this illness, it is incumbent upon the agency to inform the public which of these two products it was. They are completely different products so it makes a world of difference for the public to know which one it was.

The Rest of the Story

It turns out that this tragic death was associated with the use not of electronic cigarettes, but of THC and CBD vape cartridges. The rest of the story, that the health department is hiding from the public, is that this patient died from vaping THC. And it was most likely black market THC carts because marijuana use is not legal in Tennessee for either recreational or medicinal purposes.

Why, in describing the product associated with the death, would the health department intentionally lump electronic cigarettes into the mix, knowing that it was THC vaping that caused the death?

It would be like reporting a death from contaminated lettuce by saying: "The Tennessee Department of Health has reported one death in a patient with severe Salmonella poisoning associated with the consumption of lettuce or other vegetables."

Clearly, that would be irresponsible. The only conceivable reason why the health department would lump other vegetables into the picture would be to intentionally deceive the public so that the connection in their minds between consumption of lettuce and Salmonella poisoning would be completely undermined.

In other words, the Tennessee health department is intentionally deceiving the public in order to undermine the connection in their minds between THC vaping and the severe, acute respiratory disease outbreak. I can hardly think of anything that could be so irresponsible.

I just don't understand why so many state health departments and the CDC are trying so hard to undermine the connection between THC vaping and the outbreak. It is as if they are trying to protect illegal marijuana drug dealers by switching the focus over to legal, responsible, vape shops. And it is as if they don't actually want to prevent further cases of the disease.

Frankly, if they truly wanted to prevent further cases of the disease, if they truly wanted to honor the memory of this incredible individual whose life ended tragically because of contaminated THC vape carts produced by an illicit drug operation, the health department would clearly communicate to the public that there was a death in the state associated with vaping THC and nobody in the state should even touch a THC vape cart. If you need THC, then just smoke a joint. Right now, it is simply much too dangerous to be vaping THC in the state of Tennessee since there is no legal supply of safe THC vaping products.