Tennessee reports first death related to vaping

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018 file photo, a woman takes a puff from a cannabis vape pen in Los Angeles. On Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, U.S. health officials are again urging people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018 file photo, a woman takes a puff from a cannabis vape pen in Los Angeles. On Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, U.S. health officials are again urging people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Tennessee health officials are reporting the state's first death related to vaping.

The victim was a man in Nashville, according to a statement from the Metro Public Health Department and reported by The Tennessean.

So far, at least 53 people in Tennessee have become ill.

In a statement Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Health urged health care providers to report cases of illnesses linked to e-cigarette use. Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey also recommended that Tennesseans consider stopping e-cigarette use and vaping while Tennessee's vaping-related illnesses are investigated.

Last week, the Tennessee Medical Association and other health care organizations urged Gov. Bill Lee to issue an emergency temporary measure to restrict Tennessee youth from obtaining vaping products. They also urged lawmakers to pass a permanent solution.

Lee said there's not much data available, so officials will look deeper before making a decision about a possible ban.

The death is part of a growing health crisis across the country.

U.S. health officials have reported about 1,300 vaping-related illnesses and at least 26 deaths nationwide, according to The Associated Press.

And last week, officials in Georgia confirmed the state's second death. There have been 21 illnesses so far.

All reported cases of the recent lung illness are in patients with a history of vaping, and most but not all related lung injuries have been linked to marijuana products. However, the specific chemical causing the illness remains a mystery as do the long-term effects.

E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid to produce an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs. That liquid can contain nicotine, cannabinoid (CBD) oils, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the mind-altering compound in marijuana that produces a "high" - and other substances or additives.

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