After a Third Death, CDC Warns Against Vaping

Hundreds of cases of lung illness are being investigated
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2019 2:10 PM CDT
After a Third Death, CDC Warns Against Vaping
A man exhales vapor as he demonstrates the use of an e-cigarette in Salt Lake City.   (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Just don't vape, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, after a third death connected to vaping was reported. At least 450 possible cases of a mysterious lung illness in 33 states are being investigated, NBC reports. "While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products," the agency said. "People who do use e-cigarette products should monitor themselves for symptoms." The latest death was in Indiana; the first two were in Illinois and Oregon. Indiana health officials did not say what the patient was vaping. The cause of the recent illnesses has not been found to be a particular brand or ingredient, though an oil derived from Vitamin E is one possibility.

Also on Friday, the New England Journal of Medicine published descriptions of the respiratory illness from officials in Wisconsin and Illinois, two states hit hardest early. The state officials said the number of cases, and their severity, suggest "a new or newly recognized and worrisome cluster of pulmonary disease related to vaping," per the Washington Post. A fourth death is being investigated for a connection to vaping, the CDC said. The number of possible cases has doubled since last week, per the Hill. Patients have had shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and fever. "We are getting a clearer focus," a CDC official said, "and the investigation is narrowing." (More vaping stories.)

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