U.S. Vaping-Related Lung Injury Cases Reach 805, Up 52% in One Week

According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hundreds more cases of vaping-related lung injury have been reported across the United States.

According to the CDC report, as of Tuesday, there were 805 confirmed and probable cases linked to e-cigarette use in 46 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a 52% surge from a week earlier.

That figure was higher than the 530 cases the CDC reported last week.

At present, there have been 13 deaths in 10 states: 2 in California, 2 in Kansas, 2 in Oregon, and 1 each in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, told a House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that the number of vaping-related illnesses reported this week was expected to be "hundreds higher" than last week.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, chair of the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, said he was now "frustrated" to learn the number of cases was so high, adding that "this shows an increase of 275 lung illness cases nationwide in just one week."

Krishnamoorthi said in an email statement on Thursday: "This number is even worse than we imagined." He is leading a congressional investigation into the rise of youth vaping.

He said: "This heartbreaking news strengthens my resolve to continue leading the subcommittee’s investigation into youth use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices in order to curb this growing public health crisis."

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported the 12th death in the United States on Thursday. The patient was under the age of 30, and it was the state’s first vaping-related death.

"There are too many deaths related to e-cigarettes, and they are entirely preventable," Mississippi state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said in a Thursday news release.

Byers said, "We are saddened by this and hope it helps emphasize just how serious the dangers of e-cigarettes can be."

So far, Mississippi has identified 4 severe cases of vaping-related lung injury, and all patients were between the ages of 18 and 34.

Oregon later reported the 13th death. Governor Kate Brown announced the news and said state health agencies were urging residents to stop smoking.

The exact cause of the nationwide lung illnesses remains unknown, but all reported cases involved a history of e-cigarette use or vaping.

According to the CDC, most patients had a history of using vaping products containing THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance in cannabis. Many patients reported using both THC and nicotine. Some reported using vaping products containing only nicotine.

According to CDC data:

There were 805 lung injury cases from 46 states and 1 U.S. territory. A total of 12 deaths had been reported in 10 states.

The CDC had obtained gender and age data for 771 patients.

About 69% of patients were male.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of patients were between 18 and 34 years old; 22% were between 18 and 21 years old.

Sixteen percent of patients were under age 18.

All reported patients had a history of using e-cigarette products or vaping.

The latest findings in the investigation into lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use or vaping suggest that products containing THC played a role in this outbreak.

The CDC had received data from 514 patients on substances used in e-cigarette or vaping products within 30 days before symptom onset.

About 77% of patients reported using products containing THC; 36% reported using only THC-containing products.

About 57% of patients reported using products containing nicotine; 16% reported using only nicotine-containing products.

What the CDC still has not determined is which specific chemicals in e-cigarette products or vaping are causing lung damage; no single product or substance has been linked to all lung injury cases; and more information is needed to understand whether one or more e-cigarette products, substances, or brands caused this outbreak.