A person is recovering at home from the province’s first recorded case of severe vaping-associated lung illness, Alberta Health says.

Early in December, a person who had used tobacco vaping products began to experience shortness of breath and coughing, Alberta’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said on Thursday. The person was hospitalized to treat their respiratory problems.

“The bottom line is that vaping is not without risk,” Hinshaw told reporters in Edmonton. “Any time people inhale substances into their lungs, there’s a potential for health impacts — especially when it’s an unknown substance.”

The case is the 15th reported incidence in Canada of severe pulmonary illness connected to the use of vaping products, such as electronic cigarettes. Although no deaths of the confounding illness have been reported in Canada, the U.S. has tallied 55 fatalities and more than 2,500 sudden illnesses believed connected to the products.

To protect the Alberta patient’s privacy, Hinshaw wouldn’t say where they live, their gender identity or whether their illness was life-threatening. The person is recovering at home, Hinshaw said.

As of last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) had recorded five cases of vaping-associated illness in Quebec, four in Ontario, three in B.C. and two in New Brunswick since May 2019.

There has been no common trigger identified in the Canadian cases reported to date, Hinshaw said. Evidence from the U.S. suggests a cartridge cutting agent called vitamin E acetate may be connected to the potentially fatal condition.

As the number of Canadian cases grows, the Alberta government has indefinitely postponed the legal sale of cannabis vapes, which were set to arrive in stores this winter.

Reporting suspected cases mandatory in Alberta

The PHAC has asked provinces to report any probable and confirmed cases of vaping-related lung illness to the federal agency. Last September, Hinshaw designated vaping-related illness as a reportable condition, meaning Alberta doctors must report any suspected cases to provincial public health officials.

She’d received reports of 12 possible cases as of Thursday. The illness confirmed Sunday was the first known one in the province, she said.

According to PHAC, symptoms of vaping-associated illness may include shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, with or without vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Severe cases can result in hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit or death.

Vaping-associated lung illness is suspected when a patient with breathing difficulties has vaped nicotine or cannabis or inhaled hot vapours from cannabis oils (called dabbing) in the last 90 days, infections and other causes have been ruled out and the lungs look opaque on medical images.

Alberta is the only province without legislation governing the sale and marketing of vaping products.

The United Conservative Party government is in the midst of reviewing the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act. MLA Jeremy Nixon had been tapped with seeking feedback from across the province in how to modernize the act, including potential restrictions on the use of electronic cigarettes.

The government has also said it intends to tax vaping products in Alberta, beginning sometime in 2020.

Alberta Health spokesman Tom McMillan said in a Thursday email that about 9,800 Albertans either attended in-person consultations or completed an online survey about tobacco and vaping regulation. In the fall, the government held 41 consultation sessions around the province, including with health experts, academics, police, students, small businesses and representatives of the vaping industry.

Alberta’s lobbyist registry lists vape manufacturer Juul Labs Canada as actively lobbying the premier’s office and executive council, the ministries of justice, finance, education, health, Alberta Health Services and MLAs.

The company seeks to raise “awareness of e-cigarettes as a smoking alternative,” and prevent youths and non-smokers from taking up vaping, it says.

The Vaping Industry Trade Association also lobbied the Alberta government in November and December 2019, the registry said, to “promote an evidence-based regulation of the vaping industry.”

A final report on the consultations is expected to be in Health Minister Tyler Shandro’s hands within weeks, a government news release said.