Recently, vaping-related lung illnesses have been reported throughout the country. Investigations have begun to point to illicit or counterfeit vaping products sold on the black market. These products are typically made with solvents and ingredients that are harmful when inhaled and have not been laboratory tested.

We want to assure all of our patients that Noa Botanical’s vape products are lab-tested and effective. We never add artificial ingredients such as propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin. Noa’s Essence line of cartridges contains natural cannabis oil and plant derived terpenes. The medicine in all of our cartridges undergoes a state-of-the-art extraction, filtration and distillation process to ensure purity and potency. It is our mission to provide you with quality medicine so you can get the relief you need.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Hawai’i Department of Health
Hawai’i Department of Health’s press release on their investigation of severe respiratory illnesses related to e-cigarette use.

Center for Disease Control
The CDC’s statement on the outbreak of lung disease associated with e-cigarette or vaping

Food & Drug Administration
FDA’s report and information on lung illnesses associated with the use of vaping products.

Q&A ON THE SAFETY OF VAPING CANNABIS OIL

What is the situation in the news regarding vaping?
In recent weeks, there have been reports of adolescents who experienced difficulty breathing after “vaping” e-cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reported nearly 200 possible cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 16 different states. The only similarity in these cases is that the patients all reported using vaping products that contain either nicotine or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

What is causing this?
State and federal health authorities are focusing on possible contaminants or counterfeit substances as likely causes. Unregulated additives in black market carts or e-cigarette liquid, when heated, can breakdown into multiple toxic compounds.

Do I have to be worried about this?
If you use e-cigs or any type of black market cartridges, the CDC recommends discontinuing their use. Also included are homemade vape or e-cigs if you do not know where they came from.

Are there any artificial ingredients in Noa cartridges?
No. Noa produces all of our cartridges on O’ahu, through a state-of-the-art extraction, filtration and distillation process to ensure purity and potency. We use only natural ingredients and all terpenes are plant based. Noa’s vape products are stringently tested by a local third-party laboratory.

Are all of Noa’s products lab tested?
Yes. All of Hawaiʻi’s licensed medical cannabis dispensaries are required by law to submit every batch of flower or manufactured product they intend to dispense for analysis by a state certified, third-party lab. This mandatory analysis includes screening for the presence of residual solvents, mycotoxins, heavy metals, harmful microbes and other contaminants. Any product that does not pass the state’s stringent lab standards for purity must be destroyed.

What is a terpene?
It is a plant essential oil. The cannabis plant produces about 100 of them in different combinations and concentrations depending upon the strain. Terpenes influence the effects of each strain.

Aside from artificial additives, are there other health considerations I should know about?
Yes. Unregulated products are often packaged in inexpensive vaporizing devices manufactured with rubber, plastics or heavy metals that also vaporize at high temperatures. These cheap unregulated products, often sold on the black market, are unsafe and may be harmful to your health.

How do I know if my vaporization device is safe?
The state of Hawaiʻi requires licensed dispensaries to sell only SPA (Safe Pulmonary Administration) devices manufactured from non-reactive materials like ceramic, glass, and stainless steel. Vaporization devices sold on the black market or by smoke shops are unregulated and are not vetted or approved by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health.

Why do people vaporize instead of smoking cannabis?
Cannabis “vaporization” is a technique that suppresses irritating respiratory toxins by heating cannabis to a temperature where active cannabinoid vapors form, but below the point of combustion where smoke and associated toxins are released. Numerous national and international studies have concluded that cannabis vaporization is safer than smoking because combustion produces some of the same chemicals that correlate to cancer in tobacco smokers. The same burning process that releases tobacco flavors and nicotine also produce over 6,000 chemicals, some of which some have been identified as causes of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and emphysema.

In 2012, however, researcher Donald Tashkin compared the effects of smoking tobacco with those of smoking cannabis and concluded there is no increased risk for the development of either lung or upper airway cancer from moderate cannabis use.

Have there been studies about the safety of vaporizing?
Yes, several. Beginning in 2001, Arno Hazekamp from University of Leiden in the Netherlands conducted studies on vaporized cannabis flower and extracted cannabis oils for Storz & Bickels, manufacturers of the first cannabis vaporizers. His research showed that cannabis compounds heated below the temperature at which they burn will become a vapor that can be inhaled into the lungs and released in the bloodstream. The study concluded that the uptake of THC in the lungs from vaporization is comparable to smoking cannabis, while avoiding the respiratory disadvantages of smoking.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.