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Michigan on Wednesday will become the first state in the nation to ban flavored e-cigarettes, a step the governor said was needed to protect young people from the potentially harmful effects of vaping. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), in an interview, said the state health department found youth vaping constituted a public health emergency, prompting her to take the action. “My number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” Whitmer said. (McGinley, 9/4)

A middle-age Oregonian died in July from severe lung disease after vaping cannabis, Oregon health officials said Tuesday. The death is the first in Oregon connected to electronic cigarettes. If confirmed by the federal government, it would be one of just two such deaths nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control announced the first-ever death linked to vaping about two weeks ago. (Zarkhin, 9/3)

Last month, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced the first such death amid a growing number of similar lung illnesses across the country. (Nedelman, 9/3)

So far, the patients have a few things in common. They suffered from respiratory symptoms, including coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. Some have gotten seriously ill, even winding up in intensive care units on oxygen support through ventilators or intubation. Most are in their late teens and 20s with no underlying health issues. Many cases also involved vaping THC-containing liquids (though it’s not clear whether that was from cannabis e-cigs or nicotine e-cigs), and the CDC singled out black market products as another potential commonality. (Belluz, 9/3)

State and federal health investigators are focusing on illicit THC compounds as they search for the cause of a rash of vaping-related respiratory illnesses that struck teens and young adults this summer. Health officials have interviewed eight of 15 patients in Minnesota who have been hospitalized for severe respiratory illnesses with confirmed links to vaping. All inhaled THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana that creates a sensation of being high, said Richard Danila, epidemiology program manager for the Minnesota Department of Health. (Olson, 9/3)

Summit County Public Health warned people Tuesday to stop using any vape or e-cigarette devices amid a rise in cases of severe respiratory illness among teenagers and young adults who reported vaping e-cigarette or marijuana devices prior to hospitalization. Between Thursday and Tuesday, 298 patients across 25 states, including Ohio, were hospitalized with severe pulmonary illness after vaping tobacco products or dabbing marijuana oils, extracts or concentrates, SCPH said in a news release. (Goist, 9/3)