A new youth cessation clinic at the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger aims to address electronic cigarette use in patients under age 21 as health officials investigate a mysterious, multistate outbreak of severe lung injury linked to vaping.
Dr. Matthew Kreth, a pediatric pulmonologist at Erlanger, said a surge in youth e-cigarette use, commonly called vaping, prompted the idea to start the clinic. Kreth said a few patients have already been seen.
“The last National Youth Tobacco Survey had 3.6 million middle or high school students use a vape product in the last 30 days, so it’s kind of exploded,” Kreth said. “We were going to do it from an addiction standpoint and just the amount of middle and high school students that are [vaping], and now you have more of a crisis because of the respiratory failure associated with it.”
Concerned parents may schedule appointments for their children by calling 423-778-KIDS (5437) and asking for the “Smoke B Gone” clinic. Pediatrician referrals to the clinic also are accepted, officials said.
So far, 805 lung injury cases have been reported nationally with about 40 cases in Tennessee, according to Kreth. Nearly 80% of those cases have occurred in people age 34 and younger, including 16% under age 18, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report. Of those sickened, 12 resulted in death – including one death in Georgia – and 69% of the cases were males.