NewsNational

Actions

CDC update: More than 1,800 people sickened by vaping, 37 dead

Posted at 1:35 PM, Oct 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-31 13:39:42-04

More than 1,800 people in 49 states have been sickened by a lung disease caused by vaping, according to new figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday.

The CDC also said that 37 people have been killed by the disease, which the agency is calling EVALI.

People in 49 states have now been sickened due to vaping, according to the CDC. Alaska is the only state in which no vaping illnesses have been recorded.

Seventy percent of those sickened with EVALI are male, and 79 percent of patients are under 35 years old.

The CDC's updated reports come after a turbulent week in the vaping industry, which saw a lawsuit filed by a former employee of one of the field's largest companies, Juul. The lawsuit alleges Juul shipped one million contaminated vaping pods and failed to notify customers or issue a recall.

It's not clear if the allegations in the lawsuit are related to the nationwide outbreak of EVALI.