---
title: "Terrifying Vape Disease Has Now Killed Five People"
description: "Three more health departments have announced vape-related deaths, bringing the total death tally of the mysterious lung disease up to five people."
date: "2019-09-09"
modified: "2019-09-09"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/terrifying-vape-disease-killed-five-people"
categories:
  - "Developments"
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "medicine"
  - "vaping"
---

# Terrifying Vape Disease Has Now Killed Five People

![Three more health departments have announced vape-related deaths, bringing the total death tally of the mysterious lung disease up to five people.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/vape-disease-killed-five-people.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Images via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

Since Friday, three more people in the United States appear to have died from a mysterious lung disease associated with vaping.

On Friday, the health departments of Indiana and Minnesota each announced that someone had died of vaping-related illness, *[The New York Times ](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/health/third-death-vaping-related-disease.html>)*[reports](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/health/third-death-vaping-related-disease.html>), and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is investigating a death in which "vaping is a probable potential cause."

With these newly-announced deaths, the government is treating the "vape lung" mystery as a full-on public health issue instead of a series of isolated incidents.

And with two previously-disclosed deaths over recent weeks, that brings the total death toll up to five people. Scientists have found some potential leads into what's causing vape lung, but the investigations are still in progress — and officials are urging you to put down the vape, at least until it's all sorted out.

"While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products," Dana Meaney-Delman, the doctor in charge of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's investigation, told the *NYT*.

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

## More

- [First Teen Dies of “Vaping-Related” Illness in the U.S.](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/first-teen-dies-vaping-illness-us.md>)
- [CDC: These Are the Brands Linked to the Vaping Epidemic](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/cdc-vaping-brands-linked-epidemic.md>)
- [Idiots Are Starting to Vape, Then Switching to Cigarettes](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/vape-lung-illness-death-switch-cigarettes.md>)
- [Doctors Identify New Link Between “Vape Lung” Sufferers](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctors-link-vape-lung-sufferers.md>)
- [Remember Vape Lung? It’s Still Happening.](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/remember-vape-lung-still-happening.md>)
- [Health Officials Blame Vaping for “Severe Respiratory Illnesses”](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/health-vaping-severe-respiratory-illnesses.md>)
- [Bad News: Vaping Nicotine Linked to Lung Cancer in Mice](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/vape-nicotine-mice-lung-cancer.md>)
- [Investigation Finds Cyanide, a Literal Poison, in Vape Cartridges](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/investigation-cyanide-poison-vape-cartridges.md>)