investigation into the vaping linked lung disease. reporter: since the first report of a vaping disease in august all 50 states have been hit by this illness. the outbreak of pulmonary injury associated with vaping or e-cigarettes is an emergency. we re seeing young people become critically ill and die. reporter: the cdc has zeroed in on thc products and i think the larger issue though is the staggering rise in vaping among young people. how would you describe the vaping situation in your school? it got kind of bad last year. some people did it too much, like a lot too much and it escalated, i think. the cdc says that more than 6 million middle and high school students used a tobacco product this year.
they could have imagined. she sent me a picture of her in the er. she said i m on an iv. i have pneumonia. reporter: just as she was admitted to the hospital, her daughter maggie began hearing about an outbreak of a mysterious illness. doctors are reporting an up tick in the cases of severe lung disease which they say could be caused by vaping. and i texted her back. i said, i hope it s not the vaping disease. two days later, she had died. two days? yeah, two days. reporter: dr. tom karisni showed us her x-rays which tell the story. the thing out of the ordinary was how quickly she deteriorated. reporter: look how much they changed. the one on the right is normal. clear. but the picture on the left shows lungs that are totally obliterated. we call that whiteout. it s a bad sign. basically means air is not moving in the lungs at all. reporter: in the current
before, and it raises questions about what s to come. andrea and chuck, thanks to both of you. another major headline tonight, the explosion in vaping-related illnesses the cdc reporting at least 12 deaths in 805 cases in 46 states and the virgin islands hundreds more than last week tonight for the first time we are hearing from someone who lost a loved one to the growing epidemic here s nbc anne thompson. reporter: maggie davis says her mother mary should be added to vaping s growing death toll. she sent me a picture of her in the er on wednesday, two days before she died. she said i have pneumonia and i texted her, mom, i hope it s not the vaping disease. no officia, maggie says her mom vaped nicotine for a decade and for the past year thc. it was this idea that e-cigarettes were healthier for you is what she bought. reporter: the pepperdine university senior venting grief and frustration in her college newspaper. it took my mom away