Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Vaping scare burns shares of cannabis-related stocks

Vaping scare burns shares of cannabis-related stocks

Cannabis stocks are taking a hit from the vaping scare, and short-sellers are riding high.

Through Oct 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked vaping to 18 deaths in 15 states and 1,080 lung-injury cases nationwide.

While the cause of the health problems is unknown, proposed crackdowns are taking a toll on vaping, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the legal marijuana market.

The legal cannabis sector has attracted investments from major companies such as Constellation Brands, a Fortune 500 company that produces and markets beer, wine and spirits.

But the long-term outlook now appears uncertain. Investment firm Stifel Nicolaus cut its rating of Aurora Cannabis stock to sell from hold and slashed the price target, an estimate of a stock's fair value, by 30 percent.

Shares of Canada-based Canopy Growth, Aurora and Cronos Group are down about 29 percent each since Aug 1, and Tilray is down about 40 percent.

Short-sellers investors who bet that a stock's price will fall have benefited from the vaping controversy. S3 Analytics said short-sellers lost $1.78 billion when cannabis stocks jumped in the first quarter of 2019, but made $336 million in the second quarter and about $1.76 billion in the third quarter as shares fell amid concern about vaping.

US President Donald Trump has proposed a national ban on flavored vaping products, and the governors of major states, including New York and Massachusetts, have suggested similar bans. San Francisco has proposed a ban on all vaping products.

Vaping, the inhalation of vapor through the mouth from a battery-operated electronic device that heats and vaporizes a solid or liquid, initially was believed to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, because there is no combustion of tobacco or the paper used to wrap it. While the cause of the health problems is unknown, the proposed crackdowns are taking a toll on vaping, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the legal marijuana market.

The CDC said 70 percent of those reporting health problems related to vaping are men under age 35 with a history of using tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana that gives users a "high". However, US government investigators have not conclusively linked the vaping illnesses and deaths to THC.

"No single product or substance has been linked to all lung injury cases," the CDC said in a report. "The outbreak is occurring in the context of a dynamic marketplace for e-cigarettes, or vaping, products, which may have a mix of ingredients, complex packaging and supply chains, and include potentially illicit substances."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×