aping continues to be a huge issue for parents of young children across the world, with more and more teenagers falling ill after becoming addicted to the electronic cigarettes.
While they may have originally been brought in as an alternative to tobacco for those wanting to quit, it seems like you can’t walk down the street these days without seeing a person, young or old, with a vape in their hand.
Unsurprisingly, inhaling flavoured smoke on a regular basis can have dire effects on our health, as one 17-year-old in America found out recently after being diagnosed with ‘popcorn lung’ after vaping for three years.
Popcorn lung, or bronchiolitis obliterans as it’s actually called, is a rare chronic disease which occurs when airways in the lungs are scarred, leading to breathing difficulties, coughing, and wheezing.
A content creator has already revealed how he was able to breathe properly again and wasn’t waking up with phlegm after giving the e-cigarettes up for just a few months, so it’s clear for everyone to see the problems that smoking vapes can lead to.
Teenager cheerleading star Brianne Cullen was recently hospitalised and told she was suffering from the disease having secretly vaped since the age of 14 due to the stress of returning to school after the coronavirus pandemic.
She was fortunate enough to catch it early and her mum Christie Martin said ‘she should be able to make a full recovery because we caught it so early’ but is still worried as ‘it can also cause problems like cancer in the future’.
Vaping can have terrible consequences (Getty Stock Photo)Vaping can have terrible consequences (Getty Stock Photo)
Vaping can have terrible consequences (Getty Stock Photo)
Christie added: “Smoking takes years to show its effect and your lungs can heal from it, but popcorn lung is irreversible.
“Kids can walk straight into these smoking shops and buy them, it’s a money grab. You can’t smell it on clothes. I would walk into her room all the time and I never saw her vaping.
“It took a deadly diagnosis for her to stop.”
The first cases of bronchiolitis obliterans were discovered in workers in a microwavable popcorn factory as people were breathing in diacetyl—the buttery-flavoured chemical which used to be found in things such as caramel, popcorn and dairy products. Which is obviously where the disease got its more commonly used name from.
An x-ray showing the damage done by ‘popcorn lung’ (CBS)An x-ray showing the damage done by ‘popcorn lung’ (CBS)
An x-ray showing the damage done by ‘popcorn lung’ (CBS)
As a result, the chemical was removed from the food products.
However, some e-cigarettes still contain diacetyl, which the American Lung Association calls an ‘urgent issue for public health’ as they campaign for the dangerous chemical to be removed from e-cigarettes.
Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, from the Tobacco Treatment Clinic at Johns Hopkins University, has also stressed the seriousness of the condition, telling the Daily Mail back in 2022: “It’s as brutal as disease as it sounds… if you develop it you have a 95 percent of dying within five years.”
If that doesn’t convince you to finally put down those vapes for good, I don’t know what will.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
Topics: Vaping
James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse
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Paul Danan revealed he nearly died due to vaping addiction six months before his tragic deathPaul Danan revealed he nearly died due to vaping addiction six months before his tragic death
Home> Entertainment> Celebrity
Updated 14:11 11 Mar 2025 GMT
Published 14:12 11 Mar 2025 GMT
Paul Danan revealed he nearly died due to vaping addiction six months before his tragic death
The former Hollyoaks star was found dead in January
Joe Harker
Joe Harker
Six months before his tragic death, the former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan had revealed that he’d almost died due to his vaping addiction.
The actor was found dead at his home in Bristol on 15 January at the age of 46, prompting tributes from those who knew him, who said he was ‘a genuine and caring man’ and a ‘beautiful amazing talented human’.
At the time, a statement from his management said: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of Paul Danan at just 46 years old.
“Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many.
“His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him.”
An inquest into his death today (11 March) heard that Danan had died at his home from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin.
Bristol Avon Coroner’s Court was told that a ‘combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, with a secondary contributory finding of benzodiazepine’, caused the 46-year-old’s death.
An inquest into the death of Paul Danan said he died after taking a cocktail of drugs (Karwai Tang/WireImage)An inquest into the death of Paul Danan said he died after taking a cocktail of drugs (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
An inquest into the death of Paul Danan said he died after taking a cocktail of drugs (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Danan had been open about the struggles he had with addiction, and several months prior to his death, he had said that a vaping addiction had resulted in him being rushed to hospital.
The Mirror reports that he had been rushed to intensive care at Whipps Cross Hospital in London and diagnosed with pneumonia last year.
Danan said that his survival from that incident was a ‘miracle’, explaining that he’d been vaping when he collapsed suddenly.
He had said: “I was dead – it’s a miracle I’m here. I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed.
“My family called for an ambulance and started giving me CPR, then police arrived and took over before paramedics took me to hospital.
“I was on a machine in ICU and ended up with pneumonia. My family were warned that I might not make it through the night.”
Danan was open and honest about his struggles with addiction, including vaping, which resulted in him being placed in intensive care (Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Danan was open and honest about his struggles with addiction, including vaping, which resulted in him being placed in intensive care (Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Danan was open and honest about his struggles with addiction, including vaping, which resulted in him being placed in intensive care (Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The former Hollyoaks star had recounted that doctors had been ‘harsh’ with him and told him that if he ever smoked again, he might need to be given an oxygen tank.
Danan had taken up vaping after he quit smoking in 2021, thinking it would be the ‘safest way to smoke’.
He had said: “I saw a YouTube video where someone blew cigarette smoke into cotton wool then did the same with a vape.
“The cotton wool turned black from the smoke from the cigarette, but the wool remained the same colour after the vape vapour hit it…
“Off the back of that, in my head – because I have ADHD, everything is very visual – I’ve always thought they’d be OK.”
Featured Image Credit: Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Vaping, Drugs, Mental Health, Health
Joe Harker
Joe Harker
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All symptoms woman who ‘showered with e-cig’ faced before ‘black goo poured out of her’ due to vaping addictionAll symptoms woman who ‘showered with e-cig’ faced before ‘black goo poured out of her’ due to vaping addiction
Home> Community
Published 14:36 16 Sep 2024 GMT+1
All symptoms woman who ‘showered with e-cig’ faced before ‘black goo poured out of her’ due to vaping addiction
Her symptoms kept getting worse until she was found unconscious
Jess Battison
Jess Battison
A woman who once ‘showered with’ her vape ended up having ‘black goo pouring out of her’ due to her vaping addiction.
Jordan Brielle, 32, experienced a range of symptoms before she was found unresponsive in bed by her partner back in May.
The woman from Ohio, US, had ‘black mucus’ dripping from her mouth and nose and was taken to hospital where doctors suctioned two litres of this grim ‘black’ fluid from her lungs. Brielle was then placed in a medically induced coma for 11 days.
Now, feeling lucky to be alive, the step-mum is warning others to steer clear of vaping for the sake of their life and health.
Brielle was addicted to vaping. (Kennedy News and Media)Brielle was addicted to vaping. (Kennedy News and Media)
Brielle was addicted to vaping. (Kennedy News and Media)
Before her symptoms worsened to this scary ordeal, the woman vaped so much she even ‘slept with’ her e-cig and took it to the shower with her rather than spend the time apart from it.
But by mid-November, Brielle described she ‘began feeling a heaviness’ in her chest.
“At first it was just a respiratory infection or bronchitis so I kept going to the hospital with breathing problems,” she explained. “I had a horrible cough and was going to the hospital two or three times a week for help. I had little to no voice.”
The woman said she would just find herself getting sent home every time and described how she continued to feel symptoms similar to ‘80lbs of pressure’ laying across her chest area.
“I’d never felt so sick in my life,” she added. “My body was swelling up from my ankles to my kneecaps. I kept going to the hospital because I was progressively getting worse.
“My skin was turning grey, I couldn’t focus, I was very discombobulated. It was hurting to walk.”
As her symptoms worsened, she couldn’t ‘do anything’. (Kennedy News and Media)As her symptoms worsened, she couldn’t ‘do anything’. (Kennedy News and Media)
As her symptoms worsened, she couldn’t ‘do anything’. (Kennedy News and Media)
By this point, these symptoms Brielle was experiencing got so bad she ‘could barely do anything’.
“Nobody knew what was actually wrong with me,” she added. “I felt like I was dying.”
Having now given up vaping, she recalled the scary day her partner found her unconscious.
“He said I was gasping but couldn’t catch my breath. I was unresponsive and had a faint pulse,” she explained.
At the hospital, Brielle was told her lungs ‘were extremely damaged from smoking and vaping’ and she had to do breathing exercises before she could be discharged.
“I’ve been left with a minor brain injury due to lack of oxygen to my brain,” she added.
“The doctors told me there’s a high possibility this could happen again. I’m better now in some ways but worse in other ways.”
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Topics: Vaping, Health, US News
Jess Battison
Jess Battison
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22-year-old who was forced to have double lung transplant due to vape addiction issues urgent warning22-year-old who was forced to have double lung transplant due to vape addiction issues urgent warning
Home> News> Health
Published 12:29 18 May 2024 GMT+1
22-year-old who was forced to have double lung transplant due to vape addiction issues urgent warning
Jackson Allard had to undergo a double lung transplant after becoming addicted to vaping
Emily Puckering
Emily Puckering
A 22-year-old who had to undergo a double lung transplant following an addiction to vaping has issued an urgent warning to those thinking about picking up a vape.
When Jackson Allard, from North Dakota, was first admitted to the University of Minnesota for stomach trouble in October 2023, little did he know that his vaping addiction would soon lead to him needing a double lung transplant in order to save his life.
After undergoing tests, doctors discovered that the young man’s lungs were full of fluid and he had influenza 4 and pneumonia, resulting in him being intubated to give his lungs a chance to heal.
But this simply wasn’t enough, and it was ultimately decided that Jackson needed a double lung transplant if he were to survive.
Jackson Allard needed a double lung transplant in order to survive. (Fox News)Jackson Allard needed a double lung transplant in order to survive. (Fox News)
Jackson Allard needed a double lung transplant in order to survive. (Fox News)
Jackson’s grandmother, Doreen Hurlburt, spoke of how doctors broke the news, saying: “At one point, a doctor said he had a 1 percent chance of living and we said, ‘He’s fighting, he’s fought for how many weeks we’re going to give him a chance to fight, we’re not going to stop any procedures or anything’.
“He’s just friendly, he’s outgoing, everybody’s just attracted to his energy and how much fun he is.
“I thought for sure we were going to lose him. I thought for sure he’s not going to survive this, but in my mind I kept picturing him coming home.”
After receiving the double lung transplant in January of this year, Jackson has spoken out and issued a warning to those who have a vaping habit.
Speaking to Fox News, he said: “I was really sick, barely able to sleep, puking constantly. I had a one percent chance to live.”
Jackson’s lungs were full of fluid, and doctors found he had influenza 4 and pneumonia. (Fox News)Jackson’s lungs were full of fluid, and doctors found he had influenza 4 and pneumonia. (Fox News)
Jackson’s lungs were full of fluid, and doctors found he had influenza 4 and pneumonia. (Fox News)
Discussing his recovery, Jackson added: “The first thing that went through my head was, ‘Can I live a normal life after this?'”
Jackson and his family are currently renting an apartment in Minneapolis while he recovers from his transplant, which sees him attend rehabilitation twice a week and get weekly blood work.
He also gets his PICC line – a tube connected to his veins for long-term medication – cleaned each week, as well as having to take 30 pills a day, with family being responsible for giving him his IV medication.
Speaking of his vaping addiction, Jackson revealed how he was just 14 when he first picked one up.
“When I first started vaping, I was probably 14. I was pretty much non-stop doing it,” he said, before revealing he later started using a weed vape too.
“I told my friend who smokes weed, I was like, ‘Be careful with that’,” he warned, suggesting that people should use marijuana gummies instead of vapes.
The issues of vaping have become more clear in recent times, with the UK soon set to impose a ban on disposable vapes. (Getty Stock Image)The issues of vaping have become more clear in recent times, with the UK soon set to impose a ban on disposable vapes. (Getty Stock Image)
The issues of vaping have become more clear in recent times, with the UK soon set to impose a ban on disposable vapes. (Getty Stock Image)
Dr. Brooke Moore, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children’s Minnesota, did not treat Jackson but spoke to Fox News and said she often sees patients with vaping-related lung injuries.
“We’ve seen kids who have been vaping for short periods of time, and not necessarily with heavy use, come in with pretty significant lung injury from that,” she said.
The dangers of vaping have been discussed widely in recent times, with a doctor warning how smoking a full 600 puff vape is the ‘equivalent to about 48 to 50 cigarettes’.
This comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for disposable vapes to be completely banned in the UK, with the ban coming into force from 1 April, 2025.
Featured Image Credit: Valley News Live/Fox News
Topics: Health, Vaping, US News
Emily Puckering
Emily Puckering
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17-year-old girl rushed to hospital after going ‘blue’ when vaping equivalent of 57 cigarettes a day17-year-old girl rushed to hospital after going ‘blue’ when vaping equivalent of 57 cigarettes a day
Home> News> Health
Updated 14:00 10 Jun 2024 GMT+1
Published 07:47 10 Jun 2024 GMT+1
17-year-old girl rushed to hospital after going ‘blue’ when vaping equivalent of 57 cigarettes a day
She vaped the equivalent of smoking 400 cigarettes a week
Joe Harker
Joe Harker
A 17-year-old girl ended up losing part of her lung after she vaped the equivalent of 400 cigarettes a week.
Kyla Blight collapsed and ‘turned blue’ while she was at a sleepover at a friend’s house on 11 May, having thought that her vaping habit was mostly ‘harmless’.
However, excessive vaping created and burst a small air blister on her lung, known as a pulmonary bleb.
She almost went into cardiac arrest as a result, was rushed to hospital and spent five-and-a-half hours in surgery to remove part of her lung.
Kyla then had to stay in hospital for another two weeks before she was allowed to go home.
Kyla had to have part of her lung removed after being rushed to hospital. (Kennedy News and Media)Kyla had to have part of her lung removed after being rushed to hospital. (Kennedy News and Media)
Kyla had to have part of her lung removed after being rushed to hospital. (Kennedy News and Media)
The 17-year-old has since said she’s sworn off the vapes after her serious health scare, saying she ‘wouldn’t go near them’ now and she’s been ‘scared out of them’ by being hospitalised for two weeks.
She said: “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.
”Everyday 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 it. 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 really 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.”
Her dad Mark stayed with her through her recovery. (Kennedy News and Media)Her dad Mark stayed with her through her recovery. (Kennedy News and Media)
Her dad Mark stayed with her through her recovery. (Kennedy News and Media)
Her dad Mark said it was ‘terrifying’ and ‘horrible to watch’ his daughter suffer through a life-threatening experience.
“They said she went blue. They thought she’d gone,” he said of what he’d been told about Kyla’s condition.
Even before this close shave, her vaping had put her in hospital before as last November she’d had a suspected heart attack, though an X-ray revealed it was a hole in her lung which was the result of a bleb forming.
She’d also been in hospital in February this year where she was told the hole had healed, only for her to have a life-threatening shock.
Her dad got the call at 4am that his daughter had turned blue, and said that because of the hole Kyla’s lung had collapsed.
Mark said the surgeon told him he’d ‘done a lot of operations like this’.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
