On Wednesday, September 11, a 50-year-old female in Kansas became the sixth vaping related death in the United States due to a particular lung illness. This has added to the growing tally of vaping related deaths and has prompted the president to call for a ban on thousands of vaping/e-cigarette flavors on the same day.

According to USA Today, the five previous deaths caused by vaping were recorded and confirmed in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Oregon (Stanglin, 2019). Following the Kansas death, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted six deaths and more than 450 possible cases of severe lung damage in 33 other states, all associated with vaping/e-cigarette products. CNN says that,

“The federal investigation into the link between vaping and severe lung illnesses is ongoing and has not identified a cause, but all reported cases have indicated the use of e-cigarette products and some patients have reported using e-cigarettes containing cannabinoid products, such as THC.”

Trump also held a discussion on Wednesday following the sixth death and stated that “he will seek to ban the sale of non-tobacco related products” in order to sway the youth into not pursuing or continuing the use of vaping/e-cigarette products (Stanglin, 2019).

The CDC says that the death in Kansas was the first of the six to involve the outbreak of a serious lung disease related to vaping. The other cases previously recorded are either under probable cause or under investigation. They also say that the additive Vitamin E acetate is involved in many of the cases, but is not emphasized. Dr. Lee Norman, the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the state health officer, says,

“If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop. The recent deaths across our country, combined with hundreds of reported lung injury cases continue to intensify. I’m extremely alarmed for the health and safety of Kansans who are using vaping products and urge them to stop until we can determine the cause of vaping related lung injuries and death” (Howard, 2019).

The ban is said to hopefully prevent further deaths and combat the rising youth vaping epidemic.

Sources

Howard, Jacqueline. “A Sixth Person Died from Vaping-Related Lung Disease. Here’s What You Need to Know.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/health/vaping-outbreak-2019-explainer/index.html.

Stanglin, Doug. “A 6th Person Has Died from a Vaping-Related Lung Illness, This Time in Kansas.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Sept. 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/11/kansas-reports-6th-death-related-vaping-lung-illness/2283959001/.

Doheny, Kathleen. “Getting to the Bottom of Vaping Illness Outbreak.” WebMD, WebMD, 2 Oct. 2019, https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20191002/getting-to-the-bottom-of-vaping-illnesses-outbreak.