A woman of the state of Kansas was the sixth person to die in the United States of a mysterious respiratory illness related to vaping, state authorities said.
Kansas State Health Officer Lee Norman said “If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop”, as public health officials scrambled to understand what has quickly become a nationwide problem.
The US government is probing 450 cases of vaping related illness across 33 states and one US territory.
But the nationwide investigation led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet linked the illnesses to any specific e-cigarette product.
Many of the reported illnesses involved vaping devices – including cannabis products – that contain vitamin E acetate, an oil derived from vitamin E that can be dangerous if inhaled.
The vaping industry has blamed the surge in the contagion on black market products, but health officials have yet to rule out any vaping devices – legal or illegal – as a potential cause.
