(NEWS10) – Health officials said Friday that an Illinois patient who contracted a serious lung disease after vaping has died and that they consider it the first death in the United States linked to the smoking alternative that has become popular with teens and young adults.
The Illinois Department of Public Health the adult patient was hospitalized after falling ill following vaping, though it didn’t give other information about the person, including the patient’s name, age, hometown or date of death.
This comes as The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released new information about its investigation into a spike in severe lung disease cases that may be linked to the use of e-cigarettes.
The CDC is looking into 193 cases of pulmonary illness that all have one thing in common. Officials say every patient has reported using vapes or e-cigarettes and most reported using a THC-containing product before noticing their health gradually decline.
However, the CDC hasn’t identified a product that is common among all the cases.
