NEW: 2nd Person Dies of Vaping-Related Lung Injuries in MA

NEW: 2nd Person Dies of Vaping-Related Lung Injuries in MA

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that a second person has died of a vaping-associated lung injury.

According to the Department of Public Health, the victim is a woman in her 40s from Middlesex County who vaped nicotine.

"I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of a second patient from this lung injury. While we continue to work with our federal partners to investigate the cause of these vaping-associated lung injuries, we cannot at this time attribute a single substance or product to this outbreak of illness,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel. 

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Earlier this month, DPH reported the state’s first death from a vaping-associated lung injury, a woman in her 60s from Hampshire County who also vaped nicotine.

Vaping in MA

Since the state began mandating the reporting of vaping-associated lung injuries on September 11, the Department of Public Health has received 204 reports from clinicians of suspected vaping-associated lung injuries.

Of those 204 reports, 20 confirmed and 41 probable cases have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Of the 61 Massachusetts cases that have been reported to the CDC, 27 are male and 34 are female.

A majority of the cases– 51 percent – are under the age of 30.

Thirty percent of the people vaped only nicotine, 39 percent vaped only tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an ingredient found in marijuana, while 25 percent reported vaping nicotine and THC.

DPH will report this second confirmed death from a vaping-associated lung injury to the CDC next week.

CDC National Investigation

As of October 8, nearly 1,300 lung injury cases associated with using e-cigarette or vaping products have been reported to the CDC from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 1 U.S. territory.

Twenty-six deaths have been confirmed in 21 states.

All patients have reported a history of using e-cigarette or vaping products.

No single product has been linked to all cases of vaping related lung injury.