- At least 42 people have died from vaping-related lung injuries. The youngest person to die so far was 17 years old, and the oldest was 75.
- 2,172 other cases of vaping-related lung problems have been reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) across 49 US states, plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
- Most of the lung injuries are happening to vapers who inhale THC, which is the ingredient in marijuana that gets people high. But some injured patients say they only ever vaped nicotine.
- Vitamin E oil, a common cutting agent, is a prime suspect.
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Something mysterious and deadly is happening inside the lungs of vapers across the country.
At least 42 people have died, and 2,172 others have come down with potentially life-threatening lung injuries, after they vaped.
The cause of these vaping-related injuries and deaths are still puzzling investigators, though they’re zeroing in on a potential culprit. The lung issues are killing young and old vapers alike, and they’re spread out around the country, suggesting there may be no single source of a dangerous substance, or substances, that are making vapers sick.
Last week, the CDC landed upon its first clue that vitamin E oils, often used to cut THC in illicit vapes, may be playing a role in the outbreak, after vitamin E acetate was found in lung samples taken from 29 patients across 10 different US states.
"Vitamin E acetate is enormously sticky," Jim Pirkle, from the CDC's environmental health lab, said. "You can think of it to be just like honey. And so when it goes into the lung, it does hang around."
The median age of deadly vaping cases across the US is 52 years old, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday. Vaping has killed people as old as 75, and as young as 17.
"You are playing with your life when you play with this stuff," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in October, announcing the death of a 17-year-old boy from the Bronx, the first death in that state, and the youngest death that's been reported in the US.
A 30-something was also recently killed in Connecticut, a woman in her 60s died in Massachusetts, and in Utah, someone "under the age of 30 ... died at home without being hospitalized," the Utah Department of Health reported.
Here's where all 42 deaths have been documented:
There isn't any single brand or substance tied to the lung illnesses, but federal investigators say some trends about who gets sick and what they're inhaling are starting to emerge.
"Most patients report a history of using THC-containing products, and most patients are male and young people," CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said on a call with reporters in October.
So far, more than 85% of the vaping-related lung injuries appear to be popping up in people who say they've vaped at least some THC, which is the key ingredient in marijuana that gets people high. But 11% of lung-injury patients (who reported what kind of substances they were vaping) said that they'd only used nicotine products, suggesting there could be some common ingredient that both THC and nicotine vapers are inhaling that's creating a danger.
The US Food and Drug Administration is telling consumers not to use THC vapes of any kind while the investigation continues. The CDC agrees with that advice, but goes a step further on its website, saying that vaping is "unsafe" for everyone who doesn't already use tobacco products, and is especially dangerous for pregnant women, kids, and young adults. The CDC is urging people not to vape any THC products, especially ones that are bought from "informal sources like friends or family, online dealers, or the illicit market."
"Simply put, inhaling harmful contaminants in the lungs could put a patient's health at risk and should be avoided," acting FDA Director Norman Sharpless said in a statement.
- Read more:
- An 'enormously sticky' chemical found in sick vapers' lungs is a culprit in the vaping illness outbreak
- Vaping is leading to a spate of lung injuries, comas, and death. Lung experts say oils like vitamin E may be partially to blame.
- The FDA just leveled a stark warning against using any vapes containing THC amid an outbreak of lung disease
- Trump wants to ban flavored vapes, but that might just worsen the vaping lung injury crisis
- Mysterious vaping illnesses are causing life-threatening lung injuries and death. Here's what we know about the people who have been affected so far.