The US Teen Boy’s Vaping Habit Made His Lungs Look Like He Smoked for 30 Years
Vaping is also a type of addiction, like the way people fulfill their intoxication by smoking cigarettes. Vaping is done to satisfy the addiction.
A very dangerous case related to vaping has come to light in Virginia, US. The lungs of a vaping-addicted youth got damaged four times. The young man has shared his story with the local media. He has claimed that his lungs were damaged four times due to vaping.
The Young Man Told This Story
Draven Hatfield, 19 and a construction contractor, says he started vaping when he was just 13. He used to vape once in the first week. But later such a situation arose that every day and every time he began to vape. Only after four years, in October 2021, he started experiencing severe chest pain and cramps. He was then rushed to the hospital. At the age of 17, one lung was completely damaged. But the young man mistook it for some other reason, and his vaping habit continued. After a few months, his second lung also got damaged. The doctors themselves while examining him, told him that he seemed to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day for more than 30 years. Even though he was not that old. The specialists diagnosed that Mr. Draven was suffering from a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lungs in which air gets trapped between the lung and the chest wall).
Mr. Hatfield admitted that at first, he was unable to link his vaping habit to his lung collapse. He talked to the specialist only after his lungs collapsed for the third time. This time he decided to quit vaping. His lungs collapsed for the fourth time when he was in school and forced to undergo surgery involving "attaching the wall of ribs" to remove air bubbles from his right lung.
Though Mr. Hatfield has recovered fully from surgery, he still feels pain in the side of his chest where his lungs collapsed. He also experiences lower back problems. It appears that vaping continues to have a lasting impact on his body. Mr. Hatfield stated that nicotine gum helped him get rid of vaping and that he permanently abandoned this habit. He is now educating people about the dangers of vaping.
What is "Vaping"?
Vaping is inhaled just like a cigarette. But instead of smoke, there are some liquid particles in it. A small handheld device (such as an e-cigarette, vape pen, or mod) is used to inhale the vapor of nicotine and test (e-liquid). It is similar to smoking a cigarette, but instead of burning tobacco, vaping heats tiny particles from a liquid. This liquid acts as an intoxicant.
What is the difference between smoking and vaping?
There is a very basic difference between smoking and vaping. Smoking provides nicotine by burning tobacco. Smoking can cause related diseases, and vaping delivers nicotine by heating the liquid in a much less harmful way.
What are the disadvantages of vaping?
Vaping affects the lungs very badly. Smelling its chemicals can cause inflammation in the lungs. People who do vaping may have diseases like bronchitis or asthma. All vape liquids contain nicotine, which is an addictive substance. It can affect the heart. The lungs can be damaged. It can also result in the death of a person.
(Input from various media sources)
(AP)
