In the UK, a 17-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital after her lung collapsed from vaping an amount equivalent to 400 cigarettes per week. The incident occurred on May 11 when the teenager, Kyla Blythe, collapsed and turned bluish during a sleepover at a friend’s place.

The collapse of her lung was due to the bursting of a small air blister, known as a pulmonary bleb, caused by excessive vaping. Ms. Blythe had to undergo a five-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove a portion of her lung.

lung collapsed
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Her father, Mark Blythe, expressed his terror, saying, “''It was terrifying for me. I've cried like a baby. It was horrible to watch. I've been with her the whole time. It was life-threatening. It did threaten her life because she was so close to having a cardiac arrest on that Friday. They said she went blue. They thought she'd gone.''

Ms. Blythe began vaping at 15, influenced by her peers, believing it was harmless and consumed a 4,000-puff vape every week. However, this recent incident has left her petrified.

She noted, “When I was 15 it started becoming a popular thing. All my friends were doing it. I just thought it would be harmless and that I would be fine. Every day I would use the 4,000-puff ones and I would go through them in about a week. I honestly thought they were harmless and wouldn't do anything to anyone, even though I had seen so many things about them. I just feel like everyone has that same view.”

“But now I won't touch them. I wouldn't go near them. The situation has scared me out of them. I was terrified. We went in there thinking we were only going to be in there for a few hours but ended up being there for two weeks having surgeries and all this,'' she said.

Her father also cautioned other youngsters to discard their vapes as it’s not worth the risk.

According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), vaping is becoming increasingly popular among children, with the number of children who have tried it nearly doubling to 20% in 2023. Alarmingly, even children under 5 are becoming addicted to vaping and are being hospitalized due to lung collapse.

In addition to lung damage, vaping could hinder brain development in teenagers due to the presence of toxic chemicals like lead and uranium.

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