SANTA ROSA (KRON) – A health alert has been issued in Sonoma County concerning lung injuries as a result of vaping.
Since June, there have been 36 cases of lung illnesses tied to vaping so intense that patients had to be hospitalized in California.
The alert in Sonoma County follows a statewide alert issued by the Department of Public Health.
So far, there have been no cases reported in this county, but health officials are taking this especially serious after one person has died from vaping lung injuries in Illinois.
Now the CDC is investigating.
The injuries are related to vaping nicotine products and cannabis oils.
Health officials say most of the victims say they had been vaping before they got sick.
They are saying it’s some kind of lung injury, but haven’t said what kind of symptoms they had – only relating it to bronchitis or pneumonia.
A county doctor is advising people to limit their use of vaping products or stop using them altogether as there is still a lot more to learn about the side effects of vaping and these reported illnesses.
A major concern is the increase in e-cigarettes use from teenagers.
In Sonoma County last year, 1 in 4 students in 11th grade reported vaping on a regular basis.
Many cities have started to ban the sale of e-cigarettes including the city of Sonoma and town of Windsor.
The county has many restrictions on the sale of tobacco products.
For now, doctors are on the lookout for any future cases that may arise in the county.
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