Neal Barton:THE E-CIGARETTE
EPIDEMIC IS SWEEPING THE
NATION...AND AN EAST TEXAS
TEEN IS ONE OF THE VICTIMS.SHE
WAS SICKENED BY A MYSTERIOUS
ILLNESS THAT HAS KILLED AT
LEAST SEVEN PEOPLE. Kaci
Koviak:TONIGHT...WE ARE
DEDICATING A LARGE PART OF
THIS NEWSCAST...TO AN
IN-DEPTH...SPECIAL REPORT
ABOUT VAPING. K-E-T-K'S MYE
OWENS IS HERE WITH INFORMATION
EVERY FAMILY SHOULD KNOW. MYE?
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Mye Owens:NEAL...KACI...THE
C-D-C HAS NOW ACTIVATED AN
EMERGENCY CENTER...TO DEAL
WITH THIS DEVELOPING PROBLEM.
THE TEAM USUALLY RESERVED FOR
NATURAL DISASTERS LIKE
HURRICANES...TORNADOES.. AND
EVEN THE FLINT WATER CRISIS.
NOW...FROM EAST TEXAS TO THE
EAST COAST...THEIR FOCUS IS ON
VAPING.
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OUTCUE: SEE WHAT'S NEXT FOR
INDUSTRY.DURATION:7:48IT'S
DOMINATING THE NEWS...
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A NATIONAL CRISIS
AFFECTING AT LEAST 450
PEOPLE... FROM CALIFORNIA...
TO CONNECTICUT... TO RIGHT
HERE IN EAST TEXAS... Andrew
Porter, D.O., Ascension Via
Christi: "I really hope and
pray that we aren't at the tip
of the iceberg seeing all the
bad things that can happen
with vaping." VAPING IS ON THE
RISE... AND AS THE NUMBER OF
TEENS DOING IT INCREASES... SO
DO THE CONCERNS OF THEIR
PARENTS. LIKE THIS TYLER
MOTHER. Jennifer Audas,
Witney's Mother: "she was
smoking cigarettes and I
thought it was safe to smoke
something else." HER DAUGHER
17-YEAR-OLD "WITNEY
LIVINGSTON" WAS A TYPICAL
STUDENT AT CUMBERLAND
ACADEMY... WHO WENT FROM A
SMILING TEENAGER TO RELYING ON
A VENTILATOR TO BREATHE IN
JUST TWO- WEEKS. Jennifer
Audas, Witney's Mother: "I
felt like this was my fault,
because I was letting my kid
do this because I thought it
was safe, it's not safe."
WHILE LYING IN A DALLAS
HOSPITAL LAST WEEK "WITNEY'S"
FAMILY SAYS THEY NEVER SAW
THIS COMING. Jennifer Audas,
Witney's Mother: "The doctor
said that it looked like no
pneumonia he had ever seen."
Dale Perry, Witney's
grandfather: "she had gone to
the doctor because she was
having a hard time breathing
maybe coughing some, so they
went in for a chest x-ray and
they found a little spot and
they thought it might be
pneumonia." "and then of
course it grew from there."
TRADITIONAL TREATMENT FOR
PNEUMONIA WASN'T WORKING...
MAKING DOCTORS TAKE A SECOND
LOOK... AT WHAT THEY BELIEVE
IS AN ILLNESS RELATED TO
VAPING. Dale Perry, Witney's
grandfather: "They're
experimenting, they're doing
what most young people do and
they're invincible, and the
way it has affected her is she
realizes is it's dangerous to
do things that are taking
risk." Mye Owens, @MyeOwensTV:
"The family says 'Witney'
would vape 3 to 4 e-cigarette
pods a wekk, which is like
smoking 3 to 4 packs of
cigerettes."Jennifer Audas,
Witney's Mother: "really be
proactive with not supplying
that for their kids, don't
give them money to do that.
Just help them make the right
choice because it could save
their life. My daughter almost
died. " WITH COMMON SYMPTOMS
THAT MASK THE REAL RISKS OF
SOMETHING MUCH MORE DANGEROUS.
DOCTORS ARE LEFT IN THE
DARK... WHEN IT COMES TO
KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT IS
CAUSING TEENS LIKE "WITNEY" TO
BECOME SICK. Dale Perry,
Witney's Grandfather: "the
message that vaping is safer
than tobacco use is a common
misconception. I think we're
all finding out now that
there's more to it than just
cigarettes versus vaping." AND
SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE... OVER
IN ABILENE... THIS WOMAN, LIKE
WITNEY, IS ALSO LUCKY TO
ALIVE. Sherie Canada: "I was
never going to take advantage
of my lungs again." AFTER
VAPING FOR THREE YEARS...
"SHERIE CANADA" THOUGHT SHE
HAD THE FLU OR A STOMACH
VIRUS... SHE ENDED UP IN THE
HOSPITAL WITH HER LUNGS FILLED
WITH FLUID... IN A MEDICALLY
INDUCED COMA... Sherie Canada:
"I can't. I can't fight any
longer. I can't breathe. My
heart was just racing out of
my chest. I just couldn't
breathe anymore. I just wanted
to give up." "CANADA" WAS
NEVER A SMOKER... BUT AFTER
TRYING E-CIGGARETTES... Sherie
Canada: "I just got addicted
to the flavors and the
nicotine and I liked it."
NOW...SHE'S HOPING HER STORY
WILL SAVE LIVES... Sherie
Canada: "I believe I was given
a second chance for a reason."
AFTER THE FIRST VAPING RELATED
DEATHS...THE F-D-A CREATED
THIS GRAPHIC AD...TO HIGHLIGHT
THE DANGERS...áNATáCAUSING
LAWMAKERS TO TAKE A STAND.
Gov. Gavin Newsom "This has
been an issue that has been
brought to the forefront of my
consciousness" "family members
of their friends that are
increasingly concerned and
anxious about what they are
hearing and what they are
seeing in schools large and
small all across this state."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York
"Get the customer addicted and
they will keep coming back.
That - tobacco,
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cigarettes, and now these
vaping e-cigarettes. It's
still nicotine. And nicotine
is what's addictive."
President Trump: "vaping has
become a very big business as
I understand it like a giant
business in a very short
period of time, but we can't
allow people to get sick and
we can't have our youth be so
affected." AFFECTED BY
SOMETHING THAT'S CONFUSING TO
PEOPLE WHO DON'T VAPE ááAND
EVEN PEOPLE WHO DO. Steve
Ramirez,M.D., Baylor Scott &
White: "There are 7,000
flavors right now, and we
don't know what's in all these
flavors." MANY E-CIGARETTES
ARE RE-FILLABLE... CONTAINING
MATERIALS HEALTH EXPERTS SAY
SHOULD BE A CAUSE FOR CONCERN.
Steve Ramirez: "We know that
you're not being exposed to
the same types of carcinogens,
smoke and carbon monoxide, but
we know that you're being
exposed to a highly addictive
material." AS THE LIST OF
CHEMICALS FOUND IN
E-CIGERETTES IS STILL BEING
RESEARCHED... TEXAS OFFICIALS
NEED HELP FROM THE MEDICAL
COMMUNITY. Chris Van Deusen,
Texas Department of State
Health Services: "We would
want to know what they can
tell us about the patient. Who
are they, their age, male or
female, how long they have
been vaping, how much they
vape at one particular time,
what products they use, what
was the substance they were
vaping, was it nicotine, THC."
ALTHOUGH THE PRODUCT COMES IN
DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES...
THE MECHANICS ARE THE SAME...
THE BATTERY INSIDE FIRES
ELECTRONIC CURRENTS... HEATING
UP AN OIL CONTAINING NICOTINE
TO TEMPERATURES OF 450
DEGREES. NEXT...THE DEVICE
CONVERTS THE OIL INTO
AEROSOL... WHICH IS THEN
INHALED INTO THE LUNGS. Dr.
Michelle Bowden, Pediatrician:
"that nicotine content is
really for an adolescent
brain, is actually more
addictive to a teenager then
an adult." THE NATIONAL
INSTITUE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES...SAYS THE NUMBER OF
TEENS VAPING HAS DOUBLED...
FROM 11 PERCENT TO OVER 20-
PERCENT. CAUSING HEALTH
OFFICIALS TO BE ON HIGH ALERT.
Chris Van Deusen, Texas
Department of State Health
Services: "We don't know
what's going on and until we
can get a better handle on it,
vaping is something that
really people need to think
twice about." MANY PARENTS
WONDER WHAT'S THE ATTRACTION?
WORRIED THE ADS ARE TARGETING
THEIR CHILDREN. áNATáAngela
Ruban, East Texas Parent: "the
advertisements are reaching
the younger generation and
misleading them that's its
good and effective when in
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fact it's not." RESEARCH FROM
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DRUG
ABUSE SHOWS FOR EVERY TEN
TEENS WHO VAPE... 7 OF THEM
WERE INFLUENCED BY
ADVERTISING. Mye Owens,
@MyeOwensTV:"the appeal is
that it's decreet, has no
smell, and can be easily
masked, especially in school."
Angela Ruben, East Texas
Parent: "the odor and the
smell's not there, they can do
it anywhere. Reach down under
their desk, behind their backs
and they can't smell it, it's
convenient." WHEN "ANGELA
RUBAN" FROM TYLER...FOUND OUT
HER SON IN COLLEGE WAS
VAPING... SHE WORKED TO PUT A
STOP TO IT. Angela Ruben, East
Texas Parent: "the minute I
found out, it was just on my
radar to educate him and make
sure he understood that it was
something that was not
accepted." WHILE THE C-D-C IS
URGING CONSUMERS TO AVOID E-
CIGARETTES... THE AMERICAN
VAPING ASSOCIATION
DISAGREES... SAYING "EVIDENCE
CONTINUES TO POINT TO STREET
BOUGHT VAPING CATRIDGES
CONTAINING T-H-C OR SYNTHETIC
DRUGS"HIGHLIGHTING HOW
E-CIGARETTES CAN BE
MODIFIED... ALLOWING THE USER
TO OPEN THE POD AND ADD
INGREDIENTS SO THEY CAN VAPE
WHAT THEY WANT. INCLUDING
T-H-C... THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT
IN MARIJUANA... John Doneson /
Recovering Vaping Patient:
"Nobody is asking for your ID
when you purchase a THC pen
cartridge." VAPING IS A TOPIC
WITH MANY UNKNOWN...THE SENIOR
ADVISOR WITH THE F-D-A SAYS...
THE AGENCY IS WORKING CLOSELY
WITH THE C-D-C...AND STATE
HEALTH OFFICIALS. WHILE
REGULATIONS...POLICIES...AND
PROCEDURES...ARE STILL BEING
DISCUSSED.WITH THE TRUMP
ADMINSTRATION FINALIZES A BAN
ON FLAVORED E-CIGARETTES...
THE WORLD IS WAITING TO SEE
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE VAPING
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Mye Owens:
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EXPERTS WARN IT CAN BE TOUGH
TO SPOT WHAT PRODUCTS ARE
FAKE...AND WHICH ARE REAL...
BUT IF YOU DO VAPE...OFFICIALS
SUGGEST YOU PURCHASE THE
PRODUCT FROM A LICENSED VENDOR.
REPORTING LIVE IN STUDIO...MYE
OWENS...K-E-T-K NEWS.
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Kaci Koviak TAKE: GFXKETK NEWS
IS TAKING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT
THE VAPING PROBLEM AND
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO IT.JOIN
US THURSDAY EVENING AT 6:30
FOR OUR SPECIAL ááDIGITAL
REPORT: "E-CIGS AND VAPING:
WHAT EVERY FAMILY SHOULD KNOW."
WE'LL HAVE A LIVE CONVERSATION
WITH LOCAL EXPERTS.YOU CAN
WATCH IT ON OUR WEBSITE, EAST
TEXAS MATTERS DOT COM AND ON
OUR MOBILE APP: KETK NBC.
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TAKE: GFX OPEN