Health officials now have a name for the lung injuries associated with the vaping crisis. They're using the acronym, EVALI, short for "E-cigarettes or Vaping product use Associated Lung Injury."
At last count, there were at least 1,299 injuries associated with the EVALI outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State public health officials have logged 29 deaths in 22 states.
While there's still no official line on what's causing the EVALI outbreak, 80 percent of implicated products have contained THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana.
(MORE: 3 things you might be getting wrong about the vaping epidemic, as lung injuries top 1,000 cases)Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, cautioned against using THC products, especially ones "obtained off the streets," during a Friday news briefing. The illicit devices, "are linked to most cases and play a major role in the outbreak," she said.
So far, no single product has been linked to the lung injuries and nicotine has not been excluded as a potential EVALI culprit.