The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is investigating what could be the state’s first vaping-related death.
It likely will take at least six weeks for autopsy results to confirm whether the death of an 18-year-old man from the Denver area stemmed from the mysterious vaping-related illness that has been detected across the country, a department spokeswoman said.
So far, , and nine people have been hospitalized. In five cases, the victims reported using only nicotine products, and in five others they reported using THC products, sometimes in combination with nicotine. It isn’t clear which one the victim used.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,604 across the country as of Tuesday. So far, it has confirmed 34 deaths, though some media organizations have come up with higher totals.
The outbreak began in March and is ongoing, though the number of new illnesses has dropped for the last three weeks. A CDC spokeswoman said that could be due to delays in data reporting, rather than fewer people getting sick.
Nationwide, most people who got sick had used vaping products that contained THC, and products purchased through informal channels appear to be a significant source of the illness, according to the CDC. It isn’t clear, however, if products containing only nicotine are safe.
Research is ongoing to try to determine why vapers are getting sick. A from hospitalized vapers found injuries consistent with chemical burns, but it only examined tissue from 17 people. It’s possible that the outbreak could have multiple causes, and no specific chemical or product has been identified behind all cases.
Since the outbreak began, Colorado regulators have attempted to ban certain additives in THC vaping products, and Boulder banned selling flavored vaping products. within city limits.
