Walmart to no longer sell e-cigarettes
The retailer discontinued sales after news of mysterious illnesses.
Walmart announced Friday it will discontinue selling electronic cigarette products as a mysterious vaping-related illness has sickened hundreds nationwide and been linked to eight deaths.
"Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. locations," a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that they will sell through their current inventory.
![PHOTO: A man smokes an e-cigarette in this undated file image.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/vape-01-as-gty-190920_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday confirmed 530 probable cases of people who have experienced lung injuries associated with the use of e-cigarettes or vape products on Thursday. Two-thirds of those cases are people 18 to 34 years old, and 16% are younger than 18 years old, according to the agency.
The CDC warns that the use of any tobacco products -- including vapes -- is dangerous, especially for young people, as nicotine can harm the developing brain.
Mystery shrouds the exact cause of the vaping-related illnesses that have afflicted hundreds nationwide. Investigators have yet to identify a single cause and are unable to determine whether the vaping outbreak is linked to one illness or a series of illnesses.
In the wake of the vaping epidemic, Michigan and New York have enacted laws banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavored products.
ABC News' Erin Schumaker contributed to this story.