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We tested six vaping products. Here's what was actually in them

KGW News commissioned a Portland lab to test three THC cartridges, a Juul pod, a VQ pod and a CBD cartridge. Here's what we found.

Mila Mimica, Cristin Severance

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Published: 2:53 PM PST November 4, 2019
Updated: 7:57 AM PST November 5, 2019

Justin Wilson was hanging out with his friends earlier this year when he suddenly stopped breathing. He splashed water on his face, and quickly realized he was turning blue.  

He was hospitalized and doctors placed him into a coma, but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.  

His health at one point was so dire, his dad was asked to talk to the hospital’s chaplain. After he woke up, he was told he had fatty lipids in his lungs, and he was diagnosed with vaping toxicity, a severe lung disease most likely caused by vaping.  

Credit: KGW
Jason Wilson was hospitalized with a vaping-related illness in September.

Wilson is one of more than 1,800 people nationwide who have been diagnosed with a mysterious vaping-related illness since August 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  

Others weren’t so lucky. Thirty-seven people have died from the illness, two of whom are from Oregon. 

At this point, doctors still don’t know what exactly is to blame for the illnesses and deaths.  

“I know that people who are not vaping are not getting this,” Jake Wilson, Justin’s dad, said. 

We spoke to several experts and conducted our own lab tests on vaping products in hopes of getting a better understanding of what’s causing this epidemic.  

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