Officials with Dallas County Health and Human Services say a patient has died in Dallas County from a vaping-related lung illness. The person was in their teens and had another chronic medical condition. Officials are classifying this as the first death associated with EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping Associated Lung Injury) in Dallas County and the second in Texas.
"We've now had in Dallas County reports of 53 confirmed or probable cases that have been hospitalized," said DCHHS Director Dr. Philip Huang. "Severe lung damage damage and even death now can occur with just short-term use of these products."
The CDC published data on Tuesday indicating that 55 people died nation-wide from vaping-related illness in 2019. Earlier in December, CDC officials said that many cases of vaping-related illness were linked to vitamin E acetate. That additive is found in some cannabis vaping products. The CDC also notes on its web site that "while it appears that vitamin E acetate is associated with EVALI, there are many different substances and product sources that are being investigated, and there may be more than one cause."