SALT LAKE CITY — The number of vaping-related lung injuries in Utah continues to rise, new statistics released Tuesday from the state show.
There have now been 83 cases of the mysterious illness reported in Utah, with 11 more cases under investigation, the Utah Department of Health said Tuesday. That number is up from last week’s total of 76 patients.
The new numbers come less than a week after the state reported its first vaping-related death.
The cause of the illness, which has affected at least 1,300 people nationwide in recent months, is still largely unknown. But it appears that THC cartridges are behind it, say state officials, who are urging people not to vape THC until doctors learn more. About 9 in 10 Utah patients — but not all — reported vaping THC cartridges at some point.
Most of the patients who used THC said they’d obtained it through friends, online and from in-person dealers, according to the health department. Just a small percentage of THC products were bought at Utah vape shops or at out-of-state dispensaries.
A test of THC cartridges and nicotine e-juices by the Utate Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratory and partners found that nearly all the 19 THC samples tested contained vitamin E acetate, a known cutting agent. None of the 20 nicotine products tested contained any unexpected substances.
The statistics released Tuesday also shed some more light on who has been affected by the illness, providing a profile of the typical patient.
Of the reported victims in Utah — most of whom are young men in their 20s and 30s — 90% have been hospitalized, according to the state health department. Nearly 60% have landed in the intensive care unit, and more than 3 in 4 Utahns affected have needed to use a CPAP or BiPAP machine.
Eighty-three percent of Utahns afflicted are men, the stats show, and more than half are in their 20s, while just under one-third are in their 30s. The median age of Utah patients is 26, three years older than the national median age.