Woman issues vaping warning after being rushed to ER with collapsed lung
‘My whole left lung collapsed,’ the woman explained
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A woman has warned others against the ill-effects of vaping after she woke up one morning “coughing blood” and had to be rushed to hospital.
University student Grace Brassell, 23, posted a TikTok video taken from her hospital bed, in which she detailed how one of her lungs “spontaneously collapsed”.
Combined with her vaping habit, she added, the condition “could have killed” her.
Captioning her TikTok video, which has been viewed 4m times, Brassel wrote that she woke up one morning with pain in her ribs and began “coughing blood” soon after.
Suspecting a broken rib, she went to the hospital. However, she continued, the doctor “freaked out” when she saw Brassel’s X-ray.
“My whole left lung collapsed,” Brassel wrote, adding, “It literally spontaneously popped because I’m tall and thin.”
She said that while the condition – called spontaneous pneumothorax – was not directly caused by vaping, the habit “could have killed” her.
After doctors discovered Brassel had a collapsed lung, she said, doctors had to “shove a massive tube in my lungs to suck fluid out”.
The ordeal left her with “the most excruciating pain” she had ever been in, Brassel said on TikTok.
Earlier this year, a teenager in the US vowed never to vape again after a “toxic chemical” in an e-cigarette left her hospitalised and needing life support.
Chief Executive at the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, Maurice Swanson told News.com.au that there have been many cases in the US where young people, addicted to vaping, have been hospitalised with grave lung issues.
He also told the outlet that “those who get addicted to nicotine from vaping” face a “three-fold increase in probability” of starting to smoke regular cigarettes.
The sale of e-cigarettes with nicotine is banned in at least 32 countries around the world.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments