I never smoked before I started vaping – now I’ve been diagnosed with a debilitating life long illness
A YOUNG WOMAN has been diagnosed with a life long illness after becoming so ‘attached’ to her vape – she’d fall asleep holding it.
Abby Flynn, 20, had never smoked a cigarette before she started using disposable vapes.
“When I started it was a trend that was going around – everyone had a disposable vape,” the singleton from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said.
But within weeks she was hooked, and was getting through one disposable a day – equivalent to 140 cigarettes a week.
“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,” Abby explained.
The former supermarket worker, who was diagnosed with asthma as a child, began to develop a nasty cough which she went to get checked out at a health centre.
“I was laying there panicking and was crying because I couldn’t catch my breath,” she explained.
“I couldn’t walk and my cough was just awful,” she added.
“Initially I didn’t know what was wrong, I knew I had asthma but it wasn’t a feeling of an asthma attack.”
After being rushed to hospital doctors asked Abby if she’d ever vaped.
Scans had revealed Abby’s lungs were full of air pockets, which is a sign of a condition called bronchiolitis obliterans – better known as ‘popcorn lung’.
It’s an uncommon type of incurable lung disease caused by a build-up of scar tissue in the lungs, which blocks the flow of air.
It can be caused by a number of difference things such as infections that damage the lungs or chemicals that irritate the lungs, Cancer Research UK states.
“The doctor said that it’s really common for young people that use disposable vapes,” she explained.
What are the symptoms of popcorn lung
Signs of bronchiolitis obliterans in young people may include any of the following:
- a dry cough
- breathlessness
- difficulty in breathing
- wheezing (a whistling sound when your child breathes).
Abby spent several hours in hospital before being sent home.
And although she’s now feeling a lot better, she has to take eight steroids each morning and will be for the foreseeable future.
Abby said: “When the doctor said it was caused by vaping I was quite shocked because all my friends vape and a lot of people always carry a disposable vape around.”
The young woman is is now urging people to throw out their disposables.
“Vaping is really not worth it,” she said.
“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,” the 20-year-old explained.
The NHS states that vaping is one way that you can help wean yourself off of cigarettes.
However, medics at Cancer Research UK say as they are still a relatively new product, there are not yet enough studies to understand their long-term impact.
Guidance states: “We discourage people who haven’t smoked from using them.
“Research so far shows that vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco, and can help people to stop smoking. For the best chance of quitting, get support from a free, local stop smoking service, who can help you find the right tools for you.”
According to a Harvard University in 2016, there is a direct link between diacetyl in e-cigarettes and “popcorn lung”.
The study tested 51 types of flavoured e-cigs – specifically choosing flavours that would be appealing to young people.
Out of the 51 flavours tested, 39 of them had above the recommended level of diacetyl, leading scientists to conclude that “urgent action is recommended to further evaluate this potentially widespread exposure via flavoured e-cigarettes”.
In 2019, doctors warned against lung injuries being caused by vape pens.