FIRST VAPING-RELATED LUNG ILLNESS IS REPORTED IN COLO.

Health officials confirm first case in Colorado

State health officials on Thursday confirmed at least one person in Colorado has a severe lung illness that has been linked to e-cigarette products in more than a dozen other states.

It’s the first confirmed case of the mystery illness in the state, and Colorado health officials are investigating a second potential case, said Jessica Bralish, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The confirmed case in Colorado was reported to health officials Tuesday.

At least one of the patients in Colorado has been hospitalized, Bralish said.

The Colorado case comes as federal health officials are investigating a cluster of pulmonary illnesses among young adults and teens. There are more than 150 potential cases of the illness in at least 16 other states, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Health officials are unsure about what is causing the illnesses but have said they appear to be linked to the use of e-cigarette products. Some patients have said they were using products containing THC, but no specific product has been used in all cases, according to the CDC.

“We have some hypotheses that there might be some sort of contamination in the vape products themselves,” said Dr. Tista Ghosh, chief medical officer with the state Department of Public Health and Environment, adding that e-cigarette devices are not heavily regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

So far, no deaths have been reported, but some patients were hospitalized, CDC officials said in a news release.

The number of cases in Colorado could increase. The health department sent alerts to health care providers, advising them to be on the lookout for symptoms, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, low oxygen level, fatigue and potential fever, Ghosh said.

Vaping products have risen in popularity among teens and children, with 27% of Colorado youths reporting they used e-cigarette products, according to a 2017 state survey.

As vaping products become more popular, state and local officials including former Gov. John Hickenlooper have pushed for more regulation of the devices. This year, Gov. Jared Polis proposed creating an excise tax on vaping products and increase taxes on all nicotine products, but the bill failed.

Local officials also have moved to regulate vaping products through tax increases or raising the legal age to buy such products. This summer, Aspen became the first city in the state to ban the sale of all flavored nicotine products, including menthol.