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A patient has died after developing a severe respiratory disease due to vaping in the first such death in the US, say health officials.
The US state of Illinois’ health agency said the unnamed patient was between 17 and 38 years old.
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It comes amid an outbreak of lung disease across the US that officials have linked to use of e-cigarettes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said nearly 200 people have fallen ill from vaping nationwide.
CDC director Robert Redfield said: “We are saddened to hear of the first death related to the outbreak of severe lung disease in those who use e-cigarette or ‘vaping’ devices.”
He added: “This tragic death in Illinois reinforces the serious risks associated with e-cigarette products.
“Vaping exposes users to many different substances for which we have little information about related harms – including flavourings, nicotine, cannabinoids and solvents.”
He said vaping devices were not safe for children, young adults, pregnant women or even adults who do not normally use tobacco products.
Also on Friday, the CDC said it was aware of 193 potential cases of severe lung disease in 22 states that could be caused by vaping.
Twenty-two of the cases were in Illinois.
This is a sharp rise in only two days; on Wednesday, the agency was recording 153 such cases in 16 states.
Those affected had symptoms including coughing, shortness of breath and fatigue as well as some cases of vomiting and diarrhoea.
The CDC said it is unclear if the illnesses are related, but that they do not appear to stem from any infectious disease.
“In many cases, patients have acknowledged recent use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing product,” the CDC said, referring to the active compound present in cannabis.
The president of the American Vaping Association, Gregory Conley, said in a statement on Thursday that he was “confident” the illnesses were being caused by devices containing cannabis or other synthetic drugs, not nicotine.
At least two people have previously died in the US after their e-cigarette exploded in their face.