Brussels prosecutor opens investigation into vaping-related death

Brussels prosecutor’s office has launched a preliminary legal investigation to shed light on the circumstances that led to the first death attributed to e-cigarettes in Belgium.

The death of Raphaël Pauwaert last month is believed to be the first death attributable to use of e-cigarettes in Belgium. Pauwaert died from a lung infection in a Brussels hospital after having smoking e-cigarettes that contained CBD, one of the active ingredients in the cannabis plant. Pauwaert, who was 18 years old, had been in a coma for 26 days when he died.

Luc-Marie Jacquet, the doctor who treated him, said Pauwaert’s lung infection likely developed from the CBD vapor.

The Brussels prosecutor’s investigation was triggered by a report from the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. Officials from the service contacted and interviewed Pauwaert’s doctors and submitted their report to the Brussels prosecutor’s office, which subsequently opened a preliminary investigation on the grounds of involuntary manslaughter and tobacco legislation breaches.

“This is one step in the right direction,” Raphaël’s father Thierry Pauwaert told Het Nieuwsblad.

Photo: Pixabay

Written by Linda A. Thompson