153 cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping reported in 16 states

A man vapes.
(Image credit: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday said 16 states have reported 153 cases of serious respiratory illnesses in people who vape.

Most of the patients said they had difficulty breathing and experienced chest pain before going to the hospital, and several also said they used products containing THC, the chemical in marijuana that makes a person high. Officials are trying to get to the bottom of what exactly is causing the illnesses, and are now trying to determine which products were used. Doctors say it will be difficult to track the illness, because it is not mandatory to report vaping-related lung disease.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.