GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina hospital is reporting the state’s first death linked to vaping.
Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro says the death occurred on Wednesday, but spokesman Doug Allred couldn’t provide any additional details on Thursday. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says it’s investigating.
Allred says the hospital has had eight cases of vaping-related illness since August, including the unidentified person who died.
Last week, Cone Health confirmed it had treated at least six patients with a severe lung illness associated with electronic-cigarette use.
Dr. Murali Ramaswamy, director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program for LeBauer Health Care at Cone Health, said that in most cases, patients told doctors they had used THC, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s mind-altering effects, in the vaping devices.
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