A man over the age of 50 has become the ninth person to die from vaping amid an epidemic in the US.

The patient, who had underlying health conditions, is also the second person to have died from a vaping-related illness in the state of Kansas.

A female resident over the age of 50, with underlying health conditions, also died from using an e-cigarette.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced the news in a statement as she vowed to work swiftly to address the issue.

She said: “Today, I am saddened to announce the death of a second Kansan in association with this outbreak.

“Dr. Lee Norman and his team with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are working tirelessly with other states and organizations to gather facts on e-cigarettes and its effects.

"We are coordinating a response to combat this epidemic, so that families can avoid such tragic outcomes.”

As we previously reported, Walmart has said it will stop selling e-cigarettes at its stores.

Kansas currently has nine probable/confirmed vaping related cases, including the two deaths. Five are male and four are female and range in age from 17-67.

The victims reported using only nicotine, only THC, only CBD and a combination of THC and nicotine.

Meanwhile, the number of vaping-related illnesses nationally has climbed to 530.

The figures show a dramatic 40 percent increase from last week, when officials reported 380 cases in 36 states and the Virgin Islands. Half of the patients are under the age of 25.

US investigators have said they will try to work out what oils are clogging up the lungs of people taken ill.

It comes after various US media outlets reported the case of a 19-year-old boy who became poorly after vaping for two years.

Anthony Mayo, of Erie, Pennsylvania, fell seriously ill last week, struggling to breathe, looking pale and feeling sick.

Doctors found his lungs had become severely congested with solidified oil, which medics told his parents was similar in consistency to cooking grease that hardens after it has been left to cool.

His father, Keith Mayo, said he was told his son had "the lungs of a 60-year-old, two-pack-a-day, smoker" and medics said it was down to vaping.

Mr Mayo added: "His whole spin on it was it was cool and not that bad for you. I was just as guilty. I went along with it. I never got into it, but I didn't also prevent it either.

"He is going to have some scarring. Whether it's profound, we don't know yet."

In the UK, Public Health England (PHE) stands by its claim that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking.

It has come under fire from some academics who say the organisation is wilfully ignoring mounting evidence that vaping is harmful.

Martin Dockrell, tobacco control lead at PHE, said: "A full investigation is not yet available but indications are that the US cases have been linked to people using illicit vaping fluid bought on the streets or home-made, some containing cannabis products like THC oil or synthetic cannabinoids like spice, and others Vitamin E acetate oil.

"This is not the same as using UK regulated nicotine products. Unlike the US, all nicotine-containing e-cigarette products in the UK are tightly regulated for quality and safety by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and they operate the Yellow Card Scheme, encouraging vapers to report any adverse effects.

"Public Health England's advice remains that vaping carries a small fraction of the risk of smoking."

Meanwhile, more people are vaping than ever before, with a 12.5% growth in one year, research suggests.

An estimated 3.6 million people in the UK are currently vaping (7.1% of the population), up from 3.2 million the year before (6.2% of the population), a large survey of adults showed.

This is up from an estimated 1.3 million (2.7% of people) in 2003.

The peak age range for current e-cigarette use is 35 to 44-year-olds (9.5%) followed by 45 to 54-year-olds (9.3%), and then 25 to 34-year-olds (7.8%).

The lowest vaping rate stands at 4.3% for young adults aged 18 to 24, followed by those over 55 at 5.6%.

Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King's College London, and lead author of the independent evidence reviews of e-cigarettes for Public Health England (PHE), said: "Vaping isn't risk free, but it's much less risky than smoking, which kills nearly 100,000 people a year in the UK."