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 That is up from 380 cases reported a week ago as health officials
link more illnesses and deaths to vaping. Three-fourths of the cases
are male, and two-thirds are between the ages of 18 and 34.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now investigating more than
150 products and substances and said it has activated its criminal
investigations arm to explore the supply chain of vaping products
and identify the cause of the outbreak. No individual vapers will be
targeted, said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for
Tobacco Products.
Zeller said no single substance or compound, including
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the high-inducing component of
marijuana, or Vitamin E acetate, has been linked to all of the cases
so far.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed
seven people have died from vaping-related illness. The confirmed
deaths were reported in California (2), Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,
Minnesota and Oregon.
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"We do expect others," Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director
of the CDC, told reporters, referring to the number of deaths.
A Missouri man in his 40s died of a lung illness associated with the
use of e-cigarettes earlier this week, the eighth vaping death in
the United States and the first death in Missouri, state health
officials announced on Thursday afternoon.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and
Gabriella Borter in New York; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and
Matthew Lewis)
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