Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah resident has died from a vaping-related lung injury, health officials report.
The person was under 30 years old and died at their Salt Lake County home, according to a news release issued by the Utah Department of Health Wednesday.
"Our hearts ache for this person’s family, and we will continue to pursue answers about what is causing these illnesses so that other families won’t suffer a similar experience," the health department said in a tweet.
The health department did not release any other identifying details, including the gender of the person who died in order to protect their privacy.
Sadly, today we are reporting Utah’s first #Vaping related death. Our hearts ache for this person’s family, and we will continue to pursue answers about what is causing these illnesses so that other families won’t suffer a similar experience. More here: https://t.co/kRNI099RhD
— Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) October 9, 2019
The person was not hospitalized before they died, but the state medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was vaping-related, according to the release.
Health officials also determined that the person had vaped THC before they died, the release states.
"Based on what we know about this outbreak and what may be contributing to it, our best advice to the public is to stop vaping products that contain THC," Utah state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said in the release.
There are currently 76 confirmed Utah cases of vaping-related lung injuries, according to the department of health. Another 14 cases are being investigated as possibly vaping-related.
Over 90% of people in those cases were hospitalized, some in intensive care units, the health department said. About 94% of people in the cases reported that they were vaping THC products.
More information about vaping-related health issues is available at health.utah.gov/lung-disease-investigation.
