BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Monday announced the state’s first death linked to a vaping-related lung injury.
The victim is a woman in her 60s from Hampshire County, officials said. She was among 121 suspected cases that have been reported to DPH since September 11, when Massachusetts began mandating that clinicians immediately report any unexplained vaping-associated lung injury to the department.
Of the 121 suspected reports, nine cases have been confirmed and 10 are probable for meeting the CDC’s definition of vaping-associated lung injury.
“The number of confirmed and probable cases of vaping-associated lung injury we’re seeing continues to escalate and today I was deeply saddened to hear about the death of a patient who had this illness,” Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in a statement. “We are investigating these cases as quickly as possible and working with our federal partners to better understand this outbreak.”
On Sept. 24, Gov. Charle Baker announced a public health emergency and a four-month statewide ban on sales of all vaping products in Massachusetts.
As of Oct. 1, a total of 1,080 lung injury cases associated with using e-cigarette or vaping products have been reported to the CDC from 48 states.
Eighteen deaths have been confirmed in 15 states outside of Massachusetts.
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