A 7th Death Tied to Vaping, as One State Makes a Big Move

As officials try to figure out what's causing a spate of vaping illnesses, some proving fatal, news of another death has come in. CNN reports that the most recent e-cigarette fatality, the nation's seventh so far, is a 40-year-old from California, the second death in that state. A Monday release from the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency says the victim died after complications "suspected to be related to severe pulmonary injury associated with vaping," per Public Health Officer Karen Haught. She warns others that "long-term effects of vaping on health are unknown" and that "anyone considering vaping should be aware of the serious potential risk associated with vaping."

Under the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom, California is already pushing back, with a $20 million anti-vaping ad campaign and a crackdown on counterfeit products, as well as a closer look at adding firmer warnings on e-cigarette packaging and upping the tax on vaping paraphernalia. In addition to the deaths, officials are looking at hundreds of other cases of lung illness said to be tied to vaping, spread across 36 states and in the US Virgin Islands. The other vaping-linked deaths have taken place in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Oregon. Last week, President Trump vowed to ban flavored e-cigarettes. (An Alabama school is fighting vaping in an unusual way.)