Man begs others to stop vaping after he landed in hospital
A man is pleading with people to quit vaping after he was left with a hole in his lung and struggling to breathe.
Joseph Lawrence, 25, puffed on e-cigarettes every day for years before being rushed to the emergency room with an almost collapsed lung, The Sun reported.
A lung collapse happens when air builds up between the lung and chest wall putting pressure on the lung so it cannot expand as much as it normally does.
Joseph, from Las Vegas, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to warn others.
“If you vape, please consider quitting,” he pleaded.
“I had a hole in my lung the other day and had to be rushed to the ER because I could not breathe. Thankfully I’m doing okay now and it didn’t fully collapse.
“Please take care of yourselves and consider quitting, it’s not worth it.”
More than 3.5 million people in Australia over the age of 14 vape, according to the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.
Booming popularity of disposable brands such as Elf Bar and Lost Mary saw the UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announce a clampdown on their use last year. Australia has banned the importation of vapes.
Research suggests e-cigarettes are significantly healthier than traditional cigarettes, with the NHS recommending people use them to help them cut down on smoking.
But data on the long-term use of vapes and the impact on the body is sparse, and countless studies have shown vaping is not without risk. But data on the long-term use of vapes and the impact on the body is sparse, and countless studies have shown vaping is not without risk.
Joseph said doctors suspected his lung injury was caused by his daily vaping habit.
Dr Panagis Galiatsatos, of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, told DailyMail.com: “Inflammation is going to compromise the lungs.
“If you are vaping over and over again, you are going to make the walls of the lungs lose their integrity, become more compliant and then, in the right situation, that results in a tear.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and reproduced with permission
Originally published as Man begs others to stop vaping after he landed in hospital
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