US health officials on Thursday 14 November reported 2,172 confirmed and probable cases and three more deaths from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the death toll to 42, so far this year, reports Reuters Health.
The previous week the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 2,051 confirmed and probable US lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of e-cigarettes, or vaping products.
As of 13 November, 42 deaths had been confirmed in 24 states and the District of Columbia, the agency said.
Health officials also dubbed the discovery of Vitamin E acetate – believed to be used as a cutting agent in illicit vaping products containing marijuana components – in all lung samples from 29 patients as a breakthrough in their investigation.
The report says investigators have not linked the cases to any specific product or compound, but have pointed to vaping oils containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, as being especially risky.
[link url="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-vaping-cdc/u-s-vaping-related-deaths-rise-to-42-cases-of-illness-to-2172-idUSKBN1XO2LR"]Reuters Health report[/link]
[link url="https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html"]CDC report[/link]