Factory worker is thought to be the first Brit to have died from a lung disease linked to vaping
A FACTORY worker is thought to be the first Brit to have died from a lung disease linked to vaping.
Investigations suggest Terry Miller, 57, had oil in his lungs from vaping fluid that triggered lipoid pneumonia.
Terry’s widow Glynis, of Gateshead, has criticised UK health watchdogs for claiming vaping is 95 per cent safer than cigarettes.
She believes her husband's death was caused by his use of e-cigarettes and claims he was better off still smoking.
Glynis said: “It lulls people into a false sense of security.
“I remember the doctor taking me into a room as Terry’s condition deteriorated and telling me he was as certain as he could be that it was caused by the e-cigarette.”
It [e-cigarettes] lulls people into a false sense of security
Glynis Miller
Glynis is now calling for a new inquest into his death after the first one in 2010 recorded an open verdict.
She added that she is relieved that the potential risks of e-cigarettes were being scrutinised by US health officials after 13 deaths in America and hundreds of cases of people falling sick.
Speaking to the , she said: "I'm surprised it has taken this long. I wonder how many other cases there are that haven't been reported.
"I thank God somebody is finally sitting up and taking notice. I see kids using [vaping devices] and I think: you don't know what you are taking into your lungs."
Health problems
His case has been highlighted as a report from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says 200 health problems are linked with e-cigarette use.
The health watchdog has recorded 74 reports of health problems suspected to have been caused by e-cigarettes since 2014.
Of them, 49 were classified as "serious".
Experts are now calling on a national system to record every problem associated with e-cigarettes, according to the Times.
But the MHRA insisted all health problems are reviewed, adding that they are not concrete proof of the side effects of vaping.
Surging
It comes as the vaping death toll in the US surged to 13 last week following a spike in people being struck down with mysterious and life-threatening lung diseases.
The US Centers for Disease Control also revealed that they are now investigating 805 confirmed cases of people with the deadly lung disease.
Last week, the first death in Mississippi was reported, as well as a second in Oregon.
The previous 11 deaths occurred in the states of Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, California, Oregon and Illinois.
The rise in the death toll comes as one leading e-cigarette boss quit his job, amid the backlash against vaping.
Juul chief executive Kevin Burns stepped down as the firm announced it will withdraw all US advertising.
The growing death toll has prompted officials to launch a criminal investigation.
However, they are still struggling to identify a single product or chemical in e-cigarettes behind the outbreak.
Mitch Zeller, a director at the Food and Drug Administration, said: "The focus is on the supply chain."
The illness was first reported in April and all patients are known to have used e-cigarettes — some containing the cannabinoid THC.
MORE ON E-CIGARETTES
Symptoms can include fatigue, coughing, breathlessness and vomiting or diarrhoea.
States have begun banning e-cigarette sales and the first case has been reported in Canada.
E-cigs have already been banned in Brazil, India, Thailand and Singapore.
How safe are e-cigarettes in the UK?
In the UK, e-cigarettes are tightly regulated for safety and quality.
They're not completely risk free, but they carry a small fraction of the risk of cigarettes.
E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke.
The liquid and vapour contain some potentially harmful chemicals also found in cigarette smoke, but at much lower levels.
While nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes, it's relatively harmless.
Almost all of the harm from smoking comes from the thousands of other chemicals in tobacco smoke, many of which are toxic.
Nicotine replacement therapy has been widely used for many years to help people stop smoking and is a safe treatment.
There's no evidence so far that vaping causes harm to other people around you.
This is in contrast to secondhand smoke from smoking, which is known to be very harmful to health.
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