Teenage vaper, 17, has first double lung transplant to treat e-cigarette disease

A TEENAGER in the US has become the first patient in the US to undergo a double lung transplant as a result of smoking e-cigarettes.

The unnamed boy from Michigan, who turned 17 in hospital, was forced to have both his lungs removed after he was left facing "imminent death" from his vaping injuries.

On top of this, 2,051 people have developed the e-cigarette related illness, dubbed EVALI, in every state but Alaska.

Most of the victims killed by EVALI are male and under the age of 35, with the ages of those who have died ranging from 13 to 75.

There have been three deaths each confirmed in Illinois, California, Georgia, Indiana and Minnesota and two deaths each in Kansas, Massachusetts, Oregon and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, one death each has been confirmed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, DC.

Despite this, investigators still don't know what causes EVALI, which stands for "e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury."

Investigators have found that nearly 85 per cent of lung injury patients in the nationwide outbreak have reported using products containing THC, the substance in marijuana that gets people high, although it was not clear if that was the case for the Michigan patient.

On Friday, the CDC said that lung samples taken from 29 patients with vaping-related injuries suggest all contained Vitamin E acetate, a discovery they dubbed a "breakthrough" in the investigation.

Doctors have been issued updated guidance, urging them to be especially watchful of patients who may have both a vaping lung injury and an unrelated respiratory infection.