Before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came under criticism for its confusing and often contradictory messaging on COVID-19, the agency was responsible for a different public health communications failure, this one about vaping.
In the summer and fall of 2019, there was a spate of 2,739 lung injuries and 68 deaths related to vaping. The outbreak was a surprise. Nicotine vaping products had been available on the U.S. market since 2007 and in large parts of the world, yet no similar incidents had been recorded. Patients suffering from these injuries were mostly in their late teens and twenties
