Josie_Desmarais/iStock(NEW YORK) — Walmart announced Friday it will discontinue selling electronic cigarette products as a mysterious vaping-related illness has sickened hundreds nationwide and been linked to eight deaths.
“Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. locations,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that they will sell through their current inventory.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday confirmed 530 probable cases of people who have experienced lung injuries associated with the use of e-cigarettes or vape products on Thursday.
Two-thirds of those cases are people 18 to 34 years old, and 16% are younger than 18 years old, according to the agency.
The CDC warns that the use of any tobacco products — including vapes — is dangerous, especially for young people, as nicotine can harm the developing brain.
Mystery shrouds the exact cause of the vaping-related illnesses that have afflicted hundreds nationwide. Investigators have yet to identify a single cause and are unable to determine whether the vaping outbreak is linked to one illness or a series of illnesses.
In the wake of the vaping epidemic, Michigan and New York have enacted laws banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavored products.
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