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Topline: A 13th person died from vaping-related illness Thursday while the number of reported cases increased 52% in the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), but no vaping product or chemical has yet been pinpointed as the cause.
- The 13th fatality was reported in North Carolina, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Florida, Georgia and Mississippi reported their first vaping-related deaths this week.
- The total number of cases is 805, a 52% increase from last week’s 530 reported cases. It is unclear when symptoms began in the new cases, as the CDC has not made that information available.
- Federal officials are working to determine what’s causing the illness. The CDC has mobilized an emergency response, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has opened a criminal investigation into the supply chain used by vaping companies.
- Many of the reported cases had vaped with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. And some evidence suggests black-market and street vaping products could be linked to the illness.
- Meanwhile, vaping giant Juul is the subject of separate criminal investigations by the FDA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and multiple state attorneys general.
What to watch for: If officials determine what’s causing the vaping-related illness. And what happens to Juul. CEO Kevin Burns stepped down this week, and the company said it would stop all forms of advertising in the U.S. Juul also lost access to India and China, two big international markets.
Key background: As reported cases of vaping-related illness and deaths increased, along with usage among teenagers, measures have been taken to restrict the devices. The Trump administration is considering banning flavored e-cigarettes, while bans have passed in Michigan, New York and San Francisco. Before the outbreak, manufacturers were in the process of seeking FDA approval to continue selling their products.
