US health officials say 530 people have now been diagnosed with vaping-related breathing illnesses, but the cause remains unknown. That's 150 more than was reported on September 11.
Officials from the CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been investigating the rash of vaping-related lung illnesses since earlier this summer, and both have activated emergency operations centers to help. "There's no one compound ingredient constituent including vitamin E acetate that is showing up in all of the samples". The deaths were reported in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon.
While numerous people who have developed lung problems reported using THC - the active ingredient in cannabis - a number have said they did not vape THC. CDC hasn't said when most people got sick. Almost three-quarters of the cases have been reported among men.
According to the CDC, more than half the patients are under 25, with two-thirds between 18 and 34, and 16% under 18.
Schuchat said no e-cigarette or vaping product, substance, additive or brand has been consistently identified in all of the cases, nor has any one product or substance been conclusively linked to lung injury in patients.
IL has reported an 8th death related to the outbreak, state epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Layden said on a conference call with reporters.
Health officials in OR said the person who died there had been using a TCH vape pen.
Some of the hospitalized patients reported using bootleg e-cigarette liquids that they purchased on the street, prompting the health agency to warn Americans against these products.
"We do expect others", Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, told reporters, referring to the number of deaths.
But if you're an adult who's using nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, you should not revert back to smoking cigarettes; rather you should contact a health care provider who can discuss possible treatments, she said.
She repeated the CDC's advice that people should quit vaping if they can.
People who became ill experienced cough, shortness of breath and chest pain, and in some cases, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, health officials said.
"Identifying any compounds present in the samples is the one piece of the puzzle and will not necessarily answer questions about causality", he said.
