Louisiana state health officials are asking healthcare providers to report possible vaping-related illnesses.
A growing number of people around the country have been hospitalized with a pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarettes -- also called vapes, vaping devices, and a number of other different names.
Since the beginning of the year there have been more than 200 cases reported nationwide, and one person has died. In Louisiana, nine cases of pulmonary illness have been reported in just the last two weeks.
Officials don’t know for sure what is causing the illnesses, but all the patients have reported recent e-cigarette use.
Now, the Louisiana Department of Health wants healthcare providers to ask their patients about symptoms of pulmonary illness if those patients say they’ve used vaping products recently.
The state health department notes that while e-cigarettes and vaping products are seen by some as a way to quit smoking, they have not been approved by the FDA as a quitting aid.
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