BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that a fifth person in the state has died of a vaping-related lung injury.
They said the patient was a man in his 40s from Suffolk County and was vaping THC, an ingredient found in marijuana.
The case is among the other 46 confirmed cases of e-cigarette/vaping lung injury (EVALI) that DPH had reported to the CDC since September 11th, 2019. That was when Massachusetts began requiring clinicians to report any unexplained lung injury in a patient to the department.
“My condolences go out to the family of this patient who has died from a vaping-associated lung injury,’’ said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “This tragedy reminds us of the dangers of vaping and the reasons we strengthened our laws regarding vaping products.”
Since the state began mandating the report, 127 cases of EVALI have been identified, with 46 confirmed cases and 81 probable cases reported to the CDC.
In October, the state reported the vaping-associated lung injury deaths of a woman in her 40s from Middlesex County and a woman in her 60s from Hampshire County, both of whom vaped nicotine.
In November, DPH reported the death of a man in his 50s from Worcester County who reported vaping both nicotine and THC.
In January, DPH reported the death of a man in his 70s from Middlesex County, Massachusetts who reportedly vaped THC.
In December, Massachusett's Public Health Council had approved new regulations and restrictions on the sale of nicotine vaping, flavored vaping, and tobacco products.
You can read more on DPH's website.