Three people in the US have now died from severe lung disease that could be connected to vaping – as health officials urged people to stop using electronic cigarettes.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was investigating possible vaping links to 450 cases of lung injuries in 33 states across the country.

The latest death was announced in Indiana and is the state’s first associated with e-cigarettes.

The person, who died of a severe lung injury on Thursday, was over 18 years of age but has not been identified due to privacy laws.

Indiana is also looking into eight confirmed cases of severe lung injury linked to vaping and more than 20 other suspected cases.

Last month, it was announced a person in Illinois had died in July after developing a lung infection after using a vaping device.

Then earlier this week, news emerged of a second death in July, this time in Oregon, from a lung illness related to vaping.

Officials said no single vaping device, liquid or ingredient has been tied to all the hundreds of illnesses.

However the CDC tweeted “some laboratories have identified Vitamin E acetate in product samples used by patients with #ecigarette associated lung illness”.

Many of those affected said they had been vaping tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that gives marijuana its high.

People have increasingly been using e-cigarettes in recent years as they have been seen as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes.

An e-cigarette is a device that allows people to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke.

E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most damaging elements in tobacco smoke.

They work by heating a liquid that typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerine, and flavourings.

Doctors and health officials are now urging people stay away from all vaping products until they establish what is causing the illnesses.

The CDC tweeted it “knows that people are concerned about pulmonary disease among those who use e-cigarettes. We are keeping the families of those affected in our thoughts & are working with @US_FDA & state partners to find out what is making people sick. #vaping”.

Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain and vomiting.

On Wednesday, Michigan announced it planned to become the first state to ban the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes.

Meanwhile, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown 84% of 53 patients with lung illnesses in Illinois and Wisconsin reported using THC.

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