A girl aged just 20 has been diagnosed with Popcorn Lung and told she could end up needing an oxygen machine by 30 - after becoming so addicted to her vape she fell asleep holding it. Abby Flynn claims she's never smoked a cigarette in her life but started using disposable vapes around a year and a half ago as they became 'trendy'. But Amanda says she soon became so addicted she puffed through one disposable a day, which is the equivalent to 140 cigarettes a week, and at £4.50 a pop, the habit set her back by £135 a month.
The former supermarket maintenance coordinator said that as time went by her cough got progressively worse until she couldn't breathe last month, so dashed to hospital. Abby was taken into resus and was given oxygen, x-rays and medication, before she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans - better known as 'popcorn lung'. It's an uncommon type of lung disease caused by a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs, which blocks the flow of air.
She claims she was told by docs that if she didn't kick the habit within the next decade, she'd soon be relying on a machine to help her breathe, which was a massive 'wake up call'. As Abby's currently struggling with her chest daily and taking medication for the foreseeable future, she's keen to urge vapers to ditch their devices or at least reduce their consumption.
Abby said: "Before I started vaping I'd never tried a cigarette. When I started it was a trend that was going around - everyone had a disposable vape. You get addicted without realising. I was going through one vape a day without fail for about a year and a half, which is the equivalent of 20 cigarettes per vape.
"I had it in my hand when I was driving. I'd be asleep and wake up and it would be in my hand. It was just constantly attached to me. The doctor said that if I didn't stop vaping within the next year or two, I'll be on an oxygen machine when I'm 30. It was a bit of a wakeup call."
Abby said she'd buy two disposable vapes for £9 at a nearby corner shop and smoked a range of sweet flavours, like bubble gum. Abby said: "I've had asthma since I was around nine or ten. I started vaping about a year and a half ago. I didn't smoke before, so I literally went straight to vaping. As time went by my cough got a lot worse and then I just couldn't seem to breathe a few weeks ago, so I went to the walk-in centre.
"I was laying there in the walk-in centre panicking and was crying because I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't walk and my cough was just awful. It was really scary. Initially I didn't know what was wrong, I knew I had asthma but it wasn't a feeling of an asthma attack.
"They called an ambulance and took me straight to resus because they couldn't get my breathing under control. I was in there for about three hours on an oxygen machine, I had four nebulisers and an x-ray. Before I said anything they asked if I used disposable vapes. They said I had loads of air pockets in my lungs, which is what they call 'popcorn lung'.
"The doctor said that it's really common for young people that use disposable vapes."
Abby spent several hours in hospital before being sent home. Although she's now feeling a lot better, she takes eight steroids each morning and will be for the foreseeable future until she has an appointment to review her chest health. Abby said: "When the doctor said it was caused by vaping I was quite shocked because all my friends vape, everyone from 18 to 25, a lot of people always carry a disposable vape around.
"So for it to happen to me and not anyone else I know, I was a bit like 'what?' I think you kind of look past the dangers. I think it shocked a lot of people, my best friend threw her vape away as soon as I went into hospital.
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"I think a lot of people think that it's not going to happen to them. Vaping is really not worth it. I struggle with my chest every single day now and I know a lot of other people do as well and they're still vaping. I'd urge people to throw their vapes in the bin. I know a lot of people use them as stress relief because you get a nicotine rush from it, and that's all fine but just reduce how much you use it.
"I think because it's always in your hand, it's not like a cigarette where you go out and light it, that's why people use them so much."
