Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says he is concerned about drugs like fentanyl being introduced into vape pods. "Somebody could be right in front of you smoking fentanyl, and you wouldn't know it unless they fell out dead in a chair," Hood said. "That's what's so scary about it. You don't know what's in that pod." Photo by Imani Khayyam
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi State Department of Health is confirming Mississippi's first death related to vaping.
The department says in a news release Thursday the person was younger than 30, but it did not give the person's name, hometown or other identifying information.
The release says Mississippi has four identified cases of serious lung injury related to vaping, all in people between 18 and 34 years old. Three of those injuries are for people still living, and one is the person who died.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 500 confirmed and probable cases of lung illnesses and several deaths nationwide have been attributed to vaping.
The CDC hasn't identified a common product or ingredient responsible for the illnesses.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says he helped introduce two bills in the Mississippi Legislature earlier this year to regulate vapes, but both died in committee. Those bills, Senate Bill 2537 and House Bill 1244, would have required shops that sell vaping products to have a license to sell vapes and imposed additional regulations.
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