New vaping lung disease ‘epidemic’ that causes vomiting, fever and fatigue

Large numbers of people have checked into hospitals in the US with serious illnesses linked to vaping

Milo Boyd
3 September 2019
Mirror UK

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Vape users have been struck down with bouts of vomiting, intense breathing difficulty and in one case death, raising questions about the safety of the habit.

When e-cigarettes were first introduced to the market, the small electronic devices were hailed as a possible final nail in the coffin of the long-reigning smoke.

Between 2015 and 2018 the number of over-16s vaping in the UK shot up from 3.7% of the population to 6.3%, according to Office for National Statistic figures.

The number of smokers was dropping dramatically at the same time, from roughly 20% of the population in 2011 to 14.7% in 2018.

While vaping has been celebrated for its connection to the decline in smoking, health problems associated with the electronic habit are started to crop up in alarming numbers.

In the US alone more than 215 people have turned up to hospital complaining of breathing difficulties having regularly used a vape.

Most were otherwise healthy and in their teens or twenties.

Otherwise healthy young people have been checking into hospitals in the US with illnesses related to vaping (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Often they had been struck down with intense bouts of vomiting, fever or fatigue for several days before seeking medical help.

In the more extreme cases, some ended up intensive care for several weeks.

Last week, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind, a man from Illinois in the USA died of vaping related respiratory illness.

The cause of the health problems may be linked to the liquids used in vapes.

Inhaling some of the oil drops which are not heated up into vapour may cause breathing problems and lung inflammation.

“Inhaling oil into your lungs is extremely dangerous behavior that could result in death,” Thomas Eissenberg, who studies vaping at Virginia Commonwealth University, told The New York Times .

Teenager left in coma after vaping every day led to deadly disease

“That is probably the biggest message we can get out of this.”

Health investigators in the US are now trying to determine whether a particular toxin or substance has sneaked into the supply of vaping products.

If this is not to blame, people reusing cartridges containing contaminants, vaping particularly heavily or inhaling vaporised marijuana could be causing lung problems.

Other high profile cases of vaping related illnesses include a teenager from Texas who nearly died after his lung collapsed.

Another young man, from Florida, shared shocking images of his lungs which he claimed had collapsed after a year of using a Juul – a kind of e-cigarette.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US warned people to stop buying bootleg and street cannabis and e-cigarette products, and to stop modifying devices to vape adulterated substances.

The NHS notes that e-cigarettes in the UK are “tightly regulated for safety and quality”, but are still not “completely risk free”.

“E-cigarettes don’t produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke,” the health body’s advice reads.

“The liquid and vapour contain some potentially harmful chemicals also found in cigarette smoke but at much lower levels.

“Public Health England’s 2015 independent evidence review found that, based on the available evidence, vaping is around 95% less harmful than smoking.

“The Royal College of Physicians came to a similar conclusion in its 2016 report.”