TAMPA, Fla. — The more we learn about vaping, the worse it gets.
We already know e-cigarettes are addictive because they contain nicotine but we’re just now starting to understand the impact of vaping on the lungs.
Because the research is so new, the CDC is asking the public for help.
On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported what could be the United States’ first death connected to vaping, the cause being severe respiratory illness. That's the very thing the CDC is trying to learn more about.
Right now, the CDC is investigating 193 possible cases of lung illness across the country tied to vaping.
One Texas case put a seventeen-year-old in a coma for ten days after his lungs started failing. Doctors said his vaping habit was to blame.
The CDC said in many cases the patients reported a gradual onset of symptoms starting with difficulty breathing and chest pain before hospitalization. Some patients had vomiting and diarrhea.
This is where the public comes in. Because there’s so little research, the CDC and FDA need the public to help with their detective work. The more cases and more data, the better.
The FDA wants you to report any vaping-related health issue through its online Safety Reporting Portal.
The CDC is reaching out to healthcare systems and doctors urging them to report any possible cases of lung illness that could be related to vaping.
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