CBS, CNN, TNT Drop E-Cigarette, Juul Advertisements Over Worsening Mysterious Lung Illness

The scare of a mysterious lung disease that killed 7 people so far has led to a change in the advertisement policy of leading TV channels such as CBS, CNN, and other media companies.

Accordingly, they will pull e-cigarette advertising off their airways.

A CNBC report confirmed the decision of CBS to stop all future e-cigarette advertising, while CNN announced the plan a week ago and asserted it would not allow vaping product ads on its network.

CNN will also drop e-cigarette advertising from its other networks including cable channels TNT and TBS, which had been running vaping company Juul’s ads in recent weeks.

“WarnerMedia reserves the right to withdraw advertising from its platforms at its discretion,” CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia spokeswoman Jennifer Toner said in a statement to CNBC.

But the cable news channel said it would reconsider the policy if research proves that vaping products are harmless.

At least seven people died and 400 people became sick from a mysterious lung-illness that is blamed on vaping, according to health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors said the illness was similar to lipoid pneumonia, a type of pneumonia caused by the entry of oil into the lungs.

Juul’s tussle with regulators

Regulators and lawmakers have opened multiple probes into Juul’s advertising and other practices. The U.S. health officials announced last week that they would order the withdrawal of flavored e-cigarettes from the market.

India on Wednesday issued an executive order banning e-cigarettes while China retailers withdrew Juul products from their websites. Juul did not comment.

Lung diseases and deaths have erased the perception that electronic cigarettes that do not burn tobacco are less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

The initiation into e-cigarettes starts with the Juul starter kit comprising a battery and flavors of Mango, Mint, Virginia Tobacco and Creme that cost around $50.

According to experts, in the vaping Vs smoking conundrum, vaping hurts the lungs as the nicotine in e-cigarettes strains the cardiovascular system.

“Nicotine in e-cigarettes does the same thing as combustible cigarettes,” noted Neal Benowitz, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco.

Many market observers vouch that non-smokers are fascinated by the fancy tools of electronic cigarettes including the liquid cartridges known as Juul pods coming in many flavors.

Juul pods contain glycerol, nicotine, propylene glycol, flavorings, and benzoic acid.

California man dies from vaping issues

Meanwhile, health officials in California confirmed the death of a patient from vaping-related illness. The 40-year old man died Saturday and had “complications related to the use of e-cigarettes,” according to the Health and Human Services Agency.

A family member said they gathered many vaping products from the man’s possessions including a THC vape pen cartridge. A vape pen is typically used for heating a vape tank or cartridge to produce vapors.