Vitamin E acetate focus of vaping illness investigation

After analyzing samples of products used by people suffering from a mysterious vaping-related respiratory illness, health officials in New York found that most of the products containing cannabis also had very high levels of vitamin E acetate.

There have been 361 confirmed or suspected cases reported across the United States, with two deaths. New York health officials ran lab tests on samples of the vaping products, and only found vitamin E acetate in cannabis products, not nicotine. Vitamin E acetate is a common nutritional supplement. The Food and Drug Administration is also testing more than 100 samples from different states, and said there could be other contaminants and additives causing the illnesses.

"No one substance, including vitamin E acetate, has been identified in all of the samples tested," an FDA spokesperson told NBC News. "Importantly, identifying any compounds that are present in the samples will be one piece of the puzzle but will not necessarily answer questions about causality."

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Many of the people with the mystery illness have been diagnosed with lipoid pneumonia, which is caused by oil inhalation. In a statement, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker urged people to be "vigilant about any vaping products that they or any family members may be using," adding that "vaping of unknown substances is dangerous, and we continue to explore all options to combat this public health issue."