--- title: Seventh Person in U.S. Dies From Vaping-Related Illness in California description: The first vaping-related death in the U.S. was confirmed on Aug. 23. Seven have died since then. canonical: https://time.com/5679005/vaping-death/ author: Madeleine Carlisle article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-17T14:54:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:34:56.000Z article:section: Health og:title: Seventh Person To Die From Vaping-Related Illness in U.S. Dies in California og:description: The first vaping-related death in the U.S. was confirmed on Aug. 23. Seven have died since then. og:url: https://time.com/5679005/vaping-death/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41e45d174cf2953c/698a02fc16d884814ec36f94/vaping-death.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: vaping death og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Seventh Person To Die From Vaping-Related Illness in U.S. Dies in California twitter:description: The first vaping-related death in the U.S. was confirmed on Aug. 23. Seven have died since then. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41e45d174cf2953c/698a02fc16d884814ec36f94/vaping-death.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Seventh Person To Die From Vaping-Related Illness in U.S. Dies in California  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:34 PM UTCPublished: Sep 17, 2019 2:54 PM UTC  closeup of woman smoking e-cigarette and enjoying smoke. Copy space closeup of woman smoking e-cigarette and enjoying smoke. Copy spacediego\_cervo—Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:34 PM UTCPublished: Sep 17, 2019 2:54 PM UTC An individual in California has died from a [vaping-related illness](https://time.com/5670147/vaping-marijuana-lung-disease/), bringing the total number of vaping-related deaths in the U.S. up to seven since the end of August. “With sadness, we report that there has been a death of a Tulare County resident suspected to be related to severe pulmonary injury associated with vaping,” Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County public health officer, said [in a statement](http://hhsawebdocs.tchhsa.org/questys.cmx.hhsawebdocs/File.ashx?id=5092) Monday. Tammie Weyker, an administrative specialist for Tulare County’s Health and Human Services Agency, tells TIME that the resident was over 40-years-old. As of Sept. 11, the Center for Disease Control had [identified](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/s0912-update-cases-vaping.html) 380 confirmed and probable [cases of lung disease](https://time.com/5655329/vaping-lung-disease-cdc/) associated with vaping in 36 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On Monday that CDC [activated](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/s0916-eoc-lung-injury.html) its Emergency Operations Center to enhance their investigation into cases of vaping-related illnesses. The first [confirmed](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/s0823-vaping-related-death.html) vaping-related death was [reported](https://time.com/5660053/e-cigarette-death-illinois/) on Aug. 23 in [Illinois](https://time.com/5660053/e-cigarette-death-illinois/). Since then people have died from respiratory illnesses related to vaping in [Oregon](https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/State-Investigating-Death-Severe-Lung-Illness-Link-Vaping.aspx), [Indiana](https://calendar.in.gov/site/isdh/event/indiana-health-officials-report-first-vaping-related-death/), [Minnesota](https://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2019/lunginjury090619.html), [Kansas](https://khap2.kdhe.state.ks.us/NewsRelease/PDFs/9-10-19%20vaping.pdf), and another case in [California](http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubhpdetail.cfm?prid=2137). On Sept. 3, Oregon Health Authority officials [said](https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/State-Investigating-Death-Severe-Lung-Illness-Link-Vaping.aspx) the symptoms of the patient who died were “consistent with those of more than 200 similar cases in a national cluster of respiratory illness, mostly affecting teenagers and young adults, in at least 25 states.” “We don’t yet know the exact cause of these illnesses — whether they’re caused by contaminants, ingredients in the liquid or something else, such as the device itself,” Ann Thomas, M.D., public health physician at OHA’s Public Health Division, said in the statement. Health officials said that the patients who died in Kansas and Minnesota were over the age of 50 and 65, respectively. The patient who died in Indiana was also an adult, per health officials. Haught warned Tulare County residents that the use of e-cigarettes — or vapes — pose a risk to lung health that could cause severe injury and even lead to death. She added that the l[ongterm effects of vaping](https://time.com/5442252/are-e-cigarettes-safe/) are still unknown. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5679005/vaping-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5679005/vaping-death/"},"headline":"Seventh Person To Die From Vaping-Related Illness in U.S. Dies in California","datePublished":"2019-09-17T14:54:40.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T21:34:56.000Z","description":"The first vaping-related death in the U.S. was confirmed on Aug. 23. 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