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On Thursday, Sept. 19, officials with the Centers for Disease and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, confirmed in a teleconference with the media that 530 people have experienced lung injuries associated with the use of e-cigarette or vaping products.
The eighth death was reported in Missouri of a man in his mid-40s at a St. Louis hospital.
The CDC reported it is tracking and compiling data from across the country and so far has received complete sex and age data on 373 cases. Of those cases, 67 percent of the cases are people 18 to 34 years old, and 16 percent are younger than 18 years old. Of these, 72 percent of the cases are men.
In addition, the FDA said its criminal investigations unit is tracking leads, and that most point to black-market vaping products.
Mitch Zeller, director for the FDA's tobacco products section, said there does not currently appear to be one product or one substance involved in all of the cases.
For example, in many cases, but not all, patients have acknowledged recent use of products containing THC. Some also reported the use of e-cigarettes containing just nicotine.
He added that the FDA is not interested in prosecuting people who use illegal products, but instead, is working to find what is causing the illnesses.
The department is recommending that anyone who uses vaping products and has concerning respiratory symptoms should stop using the product and consult their healthcare provider.
Symptoms in current patients have included headache, nausea, cough, fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, high fever, and diarrhea, department officials said.
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