A Bronx 17-year-old is the youngest person to die from a mysterious respiratory disease apparently caused by vaping, officials said.
The boy died Friday following two stays in a local hospital during September. His death is the first recorded fatality caused by vaping in New York, state officials said.
“Parents have to know, young people have to know,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. “You are playing with your life when you play with this stuff.”
At least 23 people have died from the vaping related lung ailment in the U.S., with more than 1,000 others taking ill, but surviving, federal data shows.
Symptoms of the illness are comparable to those caused by pneumonia, experts said.
Kevin Deutsch is a Staff Writer for Bronx Justice News covering the criminal justice system, drugs, and DNA use by law enforcement. An award-winning journalist, Deutsch is the author of the true crime books "Pill City" and "The Triangle." He has worked on staff at the Daily News, Miami Herald, Newsday, The Palm Beach Post, and The Riverdale Press. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Forward, The Independent, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, and the New York Post, among other publications. His numerous television appearances include spots on CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN's BookTV. He has also been featured in The New Yorker. A Bronx resident, Deutsch hosts the true crime podcast "A Dark Turn" on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.
