Another three cases of severe lung illnesses connected to vaping have been reported, state health officials said Tuesday, bringing the total to eight.

Two Oregon victims have died, the Oregon Health Authority said last week. That escalation in the epidemic’s impact on Oregon prompted the state, lawmakers and Governor Kate Brown to launch a blitz of anti-vaping messaging, including calls for action.

“Public Health Warning: Stop using vaping products,” a state website tracking the epidemic says, a blanket plea that people stop using e-cigarettes, whether they contain nicotine or THC, the high-inducing chemical in marijuana.

The five victims Oregon officials reported last week all shopped at legal retail marijuana stores, health officials have said. A health authority spokesman did not say if the three new cases did, too.

The state on Friday proposed a six-month ban on vaping products, part of a six-point list of options for the governor’s consideration for stemming the tide of vaping-related illnesses. Public education and increased access to resources for quitting nicotine were among the other options.

Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, has announced an investigation into Juul, the wildly popular nicotine vape product that is already facing intense scrutiny nationwide. Rosenblum is looking into the company’s efforts to market the product to minors, who aren’t legally allowed to use them.

Nationwide, there were 805 confirmed and probable cases as of Sept. 27, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More Oregon deaths and illnesses are likely, public health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said last week.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

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