The Portuguese Society of Pulmonology (SPP) warned this Thursday that Portugal has already recorded several cases of severe acute respiratory illness caused by the use of e-cigarettes, which requires hospitalization and can be fatal.
“We are already seeing very serious clinical cases” of e-cigarette-related lung injury, known as EVALI, SPP Smoking Commission Coordinator Sofia Ravara told Lusa on World No Tobacco Day. which will take place on Friday.
According to the specialist, this is a disease characterized by acute respiratory distress requiring hospitalization, including intensive care on a ventilator.
In 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on the EVALI epidemic, reporting that by February 2020, 2,807 people (80% young) were hospitalized, of whom 68 died and some required lung transplants.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, monitoring of Evalie cases has been interrupted in the United States, but cases continue to be reported in this country and in Europe.
“European pulmonologists have a working group in which several cases of very severe acute respiratory diseases in very young people have been recorded. [utilizadores de cigarros eletrónicos] who do not have other risk factors for respiratory diseases and were not smokers,” the specialist emphasized.
Portuguese pulmonologists have also identified several cases, and last year the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology Congress reported a “very serious” case of a young man admitted to Castelo Branco Hospital.
“And there are isolated cases that may not even be diagnosed and called pneumonia because there are no systematic records of cases, as happened in the United States, and because some health care providers may not be as attentive” to these situations, he explained. .
When a patient is hospitalized for severe respiratory failure, requires oxygen therapy or other mechanical intervention, experts should ask about their smoking habits and whether they are using new tobacco products, namely e-cigarettes, Sofia Ravara said.
The pulmonologist added that specialists also treat people who use heated tobacco and “begin to suffer from heart disease (heart attacks, strokes) between the ages of 40 and 50, as well as a syndrome of recurrent respiratory complaints and difficulty breathing.” .
Some studies suggest that e-cigarettes may cause symptoms and respiratory illnesses in adolescents and young adults, such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, inflammation and irritation of the airways with intermittent symptoms of coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, acute respiratory distress, for example, and increased blood pressure and heart rate.
The 2019 National Schools Survey shows that tobacco use among young people (13-18 years old) has fallen among both sexes compared to 2015 data, but experimentation and use of new products (e-cigarettes, cigars and heated tobacco) are becoming increasingly important.
This trend was confirmed by the 2022 National School Survey (SICAD, 2023, preliminary data), which showed an increase in the use of tobacco and nicotine products among young people due to their experimentation.
In terms of initiation of use, in 2019, 38.4% of public school students said they had already tried smoking or vaping. Experimentation was higher among girls (40.7%) than boys (36.3%).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal

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