First person in the US dies from vaping
A patient has become the first person in the US to die from e-cigarettes.
The patient hasn’t been identified but Robert Redfield, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement they were a resident of the US state of Illinois.
“We are saddened to hear of the first death related to the outbreak of severe lung disease in those who use e-cigarette or ‘vaping’ devices,” he said.
“CDC’s investigation is ongoing. We are working with state and local health departments and FDA to learn the cause or causes of this ongoing outbreak.”
Mr Redfield said the death was “tragic”. The patient was between 17 and 38 years old.
A report issued by the CDC claims e-cigarette usage went up by 1.7 million between 2017 and 2018.
Dr Irlenea Arias told reporters on Friday the CDC was aware of 193 potential cases of severe lung illness associated with e-cigarette products across 22 states.
“The state departments of health are investigating the possible cause of the illness by testing patient specimens and e-cigarette products as well,” Dr Arias said.
It hasn’t been reported what type of e-cigarette the patient had been smoking.
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