All of this white cloudiness means there's a lot of inflammation in his lungs, and that's making it hard for him to breathe.

So, what's making his lungs go from this to this?

This patient is one in an exploding pattern of vaping-related lung illnesses.

The exact cause of the illnesses is still unknown.

We asked Dr. Melodi Pirzada at NYU Winthrop Hospital about treating patients affected by this growing outbreak, including the patient with the inflamed lungs.

This is a 18-year old.

At first, she didn't connect his condition to vaping.

Given the fact that this is so new, how were you able to figure it out?

We were lucky to have the mom find the cartridge and bring it to us, and that's how we correlated vaping to his condition.

Many patients have reported vaping THC oils, which come packaged in cartridges like these.

These were given to Dr. Pirzada by her patient's family.

Do you know where the patients are getting the cartridges to begin with?

They all say that their friend gave me, or, "I was at a party and I just got my hands on it."

We don't know where they are getting.

This cartridge tested positive for vitamin E acetate, a cutting agent some health officials suspect is behind many of the vaping-related lung illnesses.

TKO Products, a legal manufacturer of THC vapes in California, has learned that counterfeits like this one exist all over the country.

According to TKO, even the counterfeits are being knocked off on Chinese sites and sold in the US.

Someone buying a TKO fake won't know if it was made by the same people as the last one they bought.

Our reporting shows that even in states where cannabis is fully legal, the black market is proving more resilient than expected.

Dr. Brian Strasnick's lab tests thousands of cannabis-containing products, including vaping oils, for substances like pesticides and bacteria before these can be sold legally in Massachusetts.

Right now, there's a lot of interest in testing because of the current string of illnesses that have been related to vaping.

Can you talk a little bit about your tests in that context?

There's no mandate for testing once the material is already in the cartridges, so we don't know what's in the cartridges, and I don't think anybody really does.

Health officials are warning consumers against buying products off the street.

But according to our reporting, there's also a booming market for fakes online, on Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and even LinkedIn.

Why would people wanna cut a THC oil with vitamin E acetate?

I think one of the reasons is that the consumers are under this impression that the thicker it is, the more concentrated and the more potent, which is scientifically invalid.

Vitamin E acetate or propylene glycol is a thick, very viscous-type substance.

The consumer looks at it and says, "It's thick, there's a bubble there; it's gotta be more potent."

That's not the case.

Propylene glycol and vitamin E acetate are common ingredients in products like cosmetics, processed foods, lotions, and dietary supplements.

But when inhaled, these substances may interfere with the way our lungs work, even resulting in death.

If they are going to continue vaping, they should really stop THC vaping ASAP.

I think it's irrational to think that people are gonna stop vaping.

My suggestion to people would be if you can stop, do stop.

If you haven't started, don't start.

In the wake of the reported deaths, large retailers like Walmart have announced that they will stop selling all E-cigarettes, and policymakers like Governor Charlie Baker in Massachusetts have similarly responded by ordering a temporary ban on all vaping products in the most sweeping prohibition on E-cigarettes in the US.

I have a 20-year-old daughter.

She said, "Of course, Mom, everybody is vaping."

When I said, "Why do you think that is?"

Her answer was, "Because teenagers think they are invincible it's not going to happen to them.

It just happened to another another person, but not to them."