UK Teen's Lung Collapses After She Consumes 4000 Vape-Puffs A Week

In an alarming incident, a 17-year-old girl from the UK collapsed due to lung dysfunction. The teen has been vaping an equivalent of 400 cigarettes a week. Consequently, on May 11, she collapsed and turned blue. After being rushed to the hospital, doctors revealed that a small air blister called pulmonary bleb located on the lungs had busted. The doctors clearly said that this was the consequence of excessive vaping. 

As per reports, the teen, known as Kyla Blythe, was at her friend's house for a sleepover when she collapsed. Seeing her turn blue, many assumed that she was dead. However, after reaching the hospital, Kyla underwent five and a half hours of surgery to remove the affected part of the lungs. 

Kyla's awareness about the harm caused by Vaping

Today, Kyla is alive and is very much aware of how vaping affects her. She told media outlets, "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." 

Kyla's father was also terrified after seeing his daughter's miserable and precarious condition. Mark Blythe said, ''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.''

Kyla began vaping at the age of 15 under peer pressure. She believed that vaping was harmless and so went with the flow of 4000-puff vape in a week. Talking about this further, Kyla 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. Every day I would use the 4000-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." 

Her father also spoke up against vaping and urged people to ''throw away vapes because it's not worth it''. However, the relief is that Kyla is alive and fine. She escaped death and is now advocating anti-vaping. 

Statistics Around Vaping 

Let's look at some of the statistics regarding vaping. According to  Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), teens are increasingly falling under the influence of vaping. In 2023, 20 per cent of teens had tried vaping which has now doubled. Even more shocking is the fact that children under five are also getting addicted to vaping and damaging their lungs.

Moreover, as per another study National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021, 4.5 of the adults over 18 years of age were using e-cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes was higher among men (5.1) than women (4.0). 

Have you heard the saying- excess of anything is bad? The same applies in the context of everyone who consumes intoxicants. There is a limit to consuming such products beyond which there are consequences that could be fatal. For momentary pleasures, people must not sacrifice their health and destroy their entire life. Indulging in those products is okay if it is rare or occasional. But limits must be in mind every time. Or else, keep yourself away as far as possible. 

In this case, a teen was addicted to vaping. Consuming intoxicants must have an age limit. Peer pressure, partial knowledge and unfiltered online content deteriorate the mindsets of teenagers. So, it is very important to set an age limit in a way that kids or teens can't access any kind of intoxicants. 

Views expressed are the author's own.