HARTFORD — The Connecticut Department of Public Health reported Friday three more Connecticut residents are ill with lung injuries possibly related to using e-cigarettes or vaping.
DPH says this brings the state’s total to 34 cases that have been reported to DPH since August.
At this time, DPH said two patients remain in the hospital.
“The 31 cases involve residents from seven counties in Connecticut: Fairfield (17), New Haven (9), New London (3), Hartford (2), Litchfield (1), Tolland (1), and Windham (1),” DPH said. “The age breakdown of the patients is as follows: Under 18 years of age (5), 18 to 24 years of age (9), 25 to 34 years of age (8), 35 years of age and older (12).”
The statement went on to outline that as of October 15, 1,479 cases of vaping-related lung injury had been reported from 49 states and 1 U.S. territory, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC also reported 33 deaths had been confirmed in 24 states, including one fatality from Connecticut.
“These vaping-related lung injuries are a national public health crisis,” DPH Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell said in a statement. “We continue to work with the CDC and other partners to find out the specific root cause of these troubling lung injuries. While the investigation continues, I am asking Connecticut residents not to use e-cigarette or vaping products that contain THC. I also want to remind everyone that as a matter of public health, there is no safe tobacco product.”
You can read more on the CDC’s investigation, as well the lung injuries related to e-cigarettes and vaping here.
