Health & Fitness
Third Massachusetts Vaping Death Reported
Massachusetts health officials said a Worcester County man in his 50s died after using nicotine and marijuana vaping devices.
WORCESTER, MA — A third person has died of a mysterious, vaping-related lung illness, Massachusetts health officials said Wednesday. The individual was a Worcester County man in his 50s who use nicotine and marijuana vaping devices, officials said.
Gov. Charlie Baker in September declared vaping a public health emergency and halted sales of vaping devices for four months, a ban that has been challenged by vape shops.
The first person to die of a vaping illness in Massachusetts this year was a woman in her 60s in Hampshire County, officials said in early October. A few days later, a Middlesex County woman in her 40s died of a vaping illness, officials said. Both women used nicotine vaping devices.
More than 200 possible vaping illnesses have been reported in the Bay State, officials said. Of those, 21 were confirmed as illnesses caused by vaping and another 47 were deemed probable cases.
Nationwide, there have been 37 vaping-related deaths and 1,888 vaping-related lung illnesses, according to the CDC.
Health officials are not sure what is causing the illnesses. Neither the CDC nor the FDA have identified a specific chemical or type of vaping product linked to the illnesses and deaths.
