Teething mix which contained diethylene glycol instead of PG kills 25 kids

[dc2k08]

Guardian Newspapers

some excerpts:

THE National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday raised the alarm on the circulation of a teething mixture known as My Pikin, suspected to have caused the death of no fewer than 25 children in three teaching hospitals

NAFDAC added that more than 50 others were hospitalised with chronic kidney damage after taking the 'killer' teething mixture containing paracetamol and ethylene glycol.

Teething mixtures are popular drugs because they usually contain paracetamol, which makes a baby not to feel pain; propylene glycol, properties similar to those of ethylene glycol and is generally recognised as safe for use in food, cosmetics, and medicines; and diphenhydramine, which induces the baby to sleep, thereby bringing relief in children growing first set of teeth.

However, diethylene glycol is sometimes used by some unscrupulous companies in order to maximise profit because it is similar to propylene glycol and cheaper.

This is both thoroughly saddening and a disturbing tragedy. my heart goes out to the poor families affected. worrying too is that it could only be a matter of time until we have our first e-cig related death on our hands also.

 

[Kate]

Substituting cheaper ingredients is so easy to do, that's what happened with the pet food that was supposed to have glycerine but contained something toxic instead.

It could be just a matter of time for esmoking, it's not like it's unimaginable to use tainted ingredients, it's been done many times before.

Those poor kids. It did something to wreck their kidneys apparently.

 

[dc2k08]

you are right kate, it's not unimaginable at all. especially as times are hard and the factory owners in China are feeling the pinch. any one of them could chase that extra buck and easily substitute EG for PG, whether through ignorance or carelessness. they taste look and act the same. but only one seems to be deadly. it would really put the dampers on if it did happen.

 

[Kate]

It's partly this kind of thing that the WHO are on about when they say they can't endorse esmoking. They are right, until we can secure reliable, quality controlled chemicals we could be using and abusing anything. I won't even go into my concerns about people raising nicotine intake with esmoking.

 

[SANJP]

Thats really bad news an made me think twice about us lot and our DIY mixes .Wish the powers that be hurry up and give out some proper results so we dont all resort to mixing everything in the kitchen and getting a bad batch of pg,or worse​

 

[TropicalBob]

This is just a continuation of a problem China has exported with its medicine and food for years now. The most disturbing example ever was revealed by The New York Times, which won a Pulitzer Price for Walt Bogdanich's superb reporting: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/americas/06poison.html

It of course continued this year with industrial melanine in pet food, resulting in an estimated 10,000 pet deaths, and melanine in milk, with four children known dead and many sickened. All because a cheaper chemical could be substituted to help a product pass nutritional tests, with no regard for the deadly consequences.

Could it happen to e-liquid? In a heartbeat, it could. Who oversees e-liquid? Who regulates its safety? The manufacturer? We've seen what they do. The Chinese government? China executed a top official charged with public health responsibilities because he took bribes to look the other way. Trust in them is clearly misplaced and unfounded. And ... the deadly glycols are cheaper than the propylene glycol we expect or the glycerine that could be used! Can you imagine a company that needs to save a few bucks with the new batch? Anyone having financial difficulties?

Yet we suck this stuff into our lungs. And hope. And worry. This kind of continuing problem is the best reason ever to learn to make your own e-liquid. Just one caution: In that NYT article, you'll read that Panama thought it had bought 99.5% pure glycerine, the foundation of our DIY liquids. Wrong. China substitued diethyelene glycol for glycerine. And people began dying as investigators tracked fraudulent shipping invoices to try to find the source. Sound familiar? Sound like "gift" and "$10" value on e-product shipments from ports far from the manufacturing source? Yep.

If you make your own liquid, do not base it on anything made in China.

Oh, by the way: Does your vial of e-liquid state who made the liquid, what's in the liquid, when the liquid should be used by, a statement of purity and safety? It's poison, you know. But no one would ever guess from what's on most vials. And finding the manufacturer could be difficult.

What a sorry mess this is.

 

[Schroedinger's cat]

This is really disturbing. The possibility of substituting a likely innocuous ingredient with a poisonous cheaper one is a concern I've had since I started e-smoking (I try not to think about it when I eat...). Sometimes I think of my cigarettes and how I can count on them to at least kill me slowly rather than instantly.... The one time I forgot my bottle of e-liquid in my office overnight, I was really troubled by the notion that someone working late would take a child in, lose sight of him or her for a minute, etc etc. It was RY4, so smelled good, too. Nobody had ever seen me in the office earlier than the following morning....

 

[Bertrand]

If you don't happen to have one of these Analytical Instrument Recycle: 6890 Gas Chromatograph FID ($24,900.00, a cheap alternative is to buy your eliquid from the same places as other people do on this forum, and then wait a few months before using.

 

[Schroedinger's cat]

Unfortunately, I do not happen to have that gadget yet, Bertrand.... For now, I will continue to take my chances -but it would be nice if we had some more control over our e-juices. And warning labels, and child-proof caps. I personally hate the latter, but I'd definitely would have slept better that night if my little bottle had had those features....
It WOULD be a cruel irony if, while trying a "healthier" alternative, we happened to be poisoned. But, then, smokers tend to be risk-takers, so I guess I'll go on for now.

But, seriously, it is astonishing to me how lightly someone goes about to change an ingredient, and then people die, and often nothing happens to those who have made the decision and carried out the deed. And someone else does it again and again. Probably lots of people cut corners, but China seems to do it more than others (or, perhaps, taking more risks). In part, it is our fault as consumers, as we want cheap products, with all that such low prices must entail.

 

[Mr.Darcy]

This is just a continuation of a problem China has exported with its medicine and food for years now. The most disturbing example ever was revealed by The New York Times, which won a Pulitzer Price for Walt Bogdanich's superb reporting: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/americas/06poison.html

It of course continued this year with industrial melanine in pet food, resulting in an estimated 10,000 pet deaths, and melanine in milk, with four children known dead and many sickened. All because a cheaper chemical could be substituted to help a product pass nutritional tests, with no regard for the deadly consequences.

Could it happen to e-liquid? In a heartbeat, it could. Who oversees e-liquid? Who regulates its safety? The manufacturer? We've seen what they do. The Chinese government? China executed a top official charged with public health responsibilities because he took bribes to look the other way. Trust in them is clearly misplaced and unfounded. And ... the deadly glycols are cheaper than the propylene glycol we expect or the glycerine that could be used! Can you imagine a company that needs to save a few bucks with the new batch? Anyone having financial difficulties?

Yet we suck this stuff into our lungs. And hope. And worry. This kind of continuing problem is the best reason ever to learn to make your own e-liquid. Just one caution: In that NYT article, you'll read that Panama thought it had bought 99.5% pure glycerine, the foundation of our DIY liquids. Wrong. China substitued diethyelene glycol for glycerine. And people began dying as investigators tracked fraudulent shipping invoices to try to find the source. Sound familiar? Sound like "gift" and "$10" value on e-product shipments from ports far from the manufacturing source? Yep.

If you make your own liquid, do not base it on anything made in China.

Oh, by the way: Does your vial of e-liquid state who made the liquid, what's in the liquid, when the liquid should be used by, a statement of purity and safety? It's poison, you know. But no one would ever guess from what's on most vials. And finding the manufacturer could be difficult.

What a sorry mess this is.

very well said Bob...i couldnt agree more...

i wonder where Johnsons Creek source their PG,VG and flavourings from...if it isnt from China,then they could actually be the best bet we've got with regards to safer commercial eliquid...i just wish Christian was more forthcoming with information...

 

[MrFog]

LD50 of diethylene glycol is about 2 to 25 g/kg in mammels. There is no way you could smoke this much, no where near in fact. Ethylene glycol is much more poisonous but that will irritate airways when inhaled. I don't think we are in any danger but it does make you question just exactly what else is in our juice from China.

 

[Bertrand]

It still damages your nervous system, kidneys, though, even if you don't die. As you point out, you probably won't die, so will continue to happily consume it while it destroys your organs. I'd rather avoid it.

wrt Johnson's Creek, it probably wouldn't make a difference who their PG supplier is. The problem in the article was with the supplier's supplier's supplier's supplier.

 

[Prodigal1]

my wife's chinese (now an american citizen) from the mainland. she tells me that companies will produce anything to price spec. so if someone wants something cheaper they get it but at a larger quality loss. she tells me alot about how factories are over there and how things are done. i personally would be wary of anything ingested mainly because of corner cutting and corruption in their economy. it does worry me a good deal where this liquid stuff comes from. im not for regulation but one would hope theres some quality control between suppliers and consumers. it would be nice to see more of that especially since we are inhaling this and no long term studies are done. one would hate to see e-smoking take a hit because some people get sick.

 

[deewal]

Could some suppliers on the forum comment on this article please?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I found this document which is the FDA's guidance for testing glycerine for use in drug products. It could equally apply to propylene glycol. http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/7654fnl.pdf

 

[dc2k08]

Nice find PL. I guess this seems to be the info from that document

The Agency recommends that:
1. Drug product manufacturers perform a specific identity test that includes a limit test for DEG on all containers of all lots of glycerin before the glycerin is used in the manufacture or preparation of drug products because of the serious hazard associated with DEG contamination.

A specific identity test for glycerin is found in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monograph. The USP monograph for glycerin provides a two-part identity test: test A using “Infrared Absorption” and test B using gas chromatography that references the “Limit of Diethylene Glycol and Related Compounds.” The infrared absorption test identifies glycerin and DEG, but does not distinguish between the two. Test B distinguishes glycerin from DEG.

2. Drug product manufacturers know their supply chain for glycerin (i.e., the manufacturer of the component and any subsequent distributor(s)).

3. All manufacturers take every opportunity to ensure proper testing of glycerin for DEG contamination. All personnel in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities (especially personnel directly responsible for receipt, testing, and release of glycerin) should be made aware of the importance of proper testing and the potential hazards if the testing is not done.

4. Repackers, and others who distribute and prepare glycerin for use in drug products, test glycerin that is used, sold for use, or intended for use in drug products.

Looks like the FDA have a solid case for regulating e-liquid and WHO have a solid case for being concerned. I guess we need to find the Pharmacopeia monograph and see how complicated that test is to implement and whether it can done in a non-clinical environment.

ps. thanks for linking to that article bob, looks like a solid read alright. i'll have to find time to go through it tonight. also, i think if we stitched together all your posts on this forum, you would be up for that award too !!

 

[Bertrand]

I alluded to this test in my post. My point was, the machines cost somewhere in the order of USD25,000. Some suppliers on here sook about the cost of holding stock and even the small bottles they dole it into. I don't think any of them will be buying one. (Dealextreme does not currently return any results for gas chromatograph.)

 

[Kate]

The lab report for Wicked juice says:

"The sample was analyzed by an external flavour laboratory to determine the components present by GC-MS (gas chromatography mass-spectrometry)."

http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/documents/about-the-fluid/D319.doc

 

[Bertrand]

The lab report for Wicked juice says:

"The sample was analyzed by an external flavour laboratory to determine the components present by GC-MS (gas chromatography mass-spectrometry)."

http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/documents/about-the-fluid/D319.doc

This is to evaluate the safety of the forumla. They do not test each batch.

 

[Kate]

It's not impossible for that to happen.