(CNN)The number of vaping-related lung injury cases have topped 2, (nationwide.)
As of December (********************************************************, there were 2, 823 hospitalized cases of lung injury linked to vaping in the United States, theUS Centers for Disease Control and Preventionsaid on Thursday.
Vaping injuries have been reported in all 52 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
********The CDC on Thursday also reported confirmed deaths in the District of Columbia and states: Alabama, Califo rnia, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minissota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
The CDC’s previous report on the outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries, released on December (***********************************************************, recorded 2, (hospitalized cases of lung injury linked to vaping and deaths. The CDC recently decided to include only cases that resulted in hospitalization. As a result, CDC this month removed 175 non-hospitalized cases from its previously reported national case counts.
The median age of deceased patients was years and they ranged from (to) ************************************************. More deaths are under investigation, the agency said.
Data suggest the outbreak might have peaked in mid-September, the CDC said, but states continue to report new cases and deaths to the agency on a weekly basis.
The CDC and US Food and Drug Administration recommend that people not use e-cigarette products that contain THC. While it appears that vitamin E acetate, a thickener used in some vaping products, is linked to the lung injury cases, there are many different substances and product sources that are being investigated, and there may be more than one cause, the CDC said.
Findings from the annualMonitoring the Future Survey, released on Wednesday, found that vaping marijuana has been on the rise among youth, with (*******************************************************. 8% of th graders reporting vaping marijuana in the past year, 4% of (th graders and 7% of eighth graders.
“We predict that next year that awareness that vaping of THC is associated with these acute lung injuries may lead to actually a reduction of vaping among teen agers, “Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,previously told CNN.
“We will find out,” she said.
CNN’sJamie Gumbrechtcontributed to this report.
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