.png)
2 days ago
3
A woman who was so addicted to vaping she showered with her e-cigarette almost died when her lungs collapsed and black goo poured out of her mouth and nose.
Jordan Brielle had smoked since she was a teenager but when she quit in 2021 when she decided to switch to vaping.
But the 32-year-old soon became addicted and ended up spending vast amounts of money to keep up her new habit.
Ms Brielle, from Cincinnati, Ohio, first noticed her health decline in November 2023 when she began to feel a distinct 'heaviness' in her chest.
Although the residential care assistant went to hospital two or three times a week with breathing problems, she still continued to vape.
Jordan Brielle had been smoking cigarettes since she was a teenager, but when she quit in 2021 she decided to switch to vaping
But the 32-year-old soon became addicted to vapes and ended up spending $500 (£379) a week to keep up the habit
Ms Brielle, a residential assistant from Cincinnati, Ohio , US, first noticed her health decline in November 2023 when she began to feel a distinct heaviness in her chest
In May this year, she was rushed to hospital after her partner found her unresponsive in bed with 'black mucus' dripping out of her nose and mouth.
Once at hospital, doctors suctioned two litres of 'black' fluid from her lungs and placed her into a medically induced coma for 11 days.
Ms Brielle confessed she hasn't touched a vape since and is now warning others to steer clear of the habit.
She said: 'I was fully addicted. I was vaping so much that I slept with it, it went to the shower with me. I was vaping an excessive amount.
'Then in mid-November, I began feeling a heaviness in my chest. At first it was just a respiratory infection or bronchitis so I kept going to the hospital with breathing problems.
'I had a horrible cough and was going to the hospital two or three times a week for help. I had little to no voice.
Although the step-mum-of-one went to hospital two or three times a week with breathing problems, she still continued to vape
In May this year, she was rushed to hospital after her partner found her unresponsive in bed with 'black mucus' dripping out of her nose and mouth
Once at hospital, doctors suctioned two litres of 'black' fluid from her lungs and placed her into a medically induced coma for 11 days
'Each time they would send me home. It felt like there were 80lbs of pressure just laying on my chest. I'd never felt so sick in my life.
'My body was swelling up from my ankles to my kneecaps. I kept going to the hospital because I was progressively getting worse.
'My skin was turning grey, I couldn't focus, I was very discombobulated. It was hurting to walk. I could barely do anything. Nobody knew what was actually wrong with me. I felt like I was dying.'
Even when she caught Covid-19 and pneumonia she claims she still continued to vape during her health difficulties.
It was only after her hospital admission that she decided to ditch the e-cigarettes for good.
Medics discovered she had at least two litres of fluid on her lungs, which were also extremely damaged from smoking and vaping
Ms Brielle confessed she hasn't touched a vape since and is now warning others to steer clear of the habit
Ms Brielle said: 'When he went to wake me up [before a night shift], he said there was black mucus coming out of my mouth and my nose. He said I was gasping but couldn't catch my breath. I was unresponsive and had a faint pulse.
'He began sucking the sputum out of my nose and mouth to try and give me CPR.
'He called 911 because the CPR wasn't working. I don't remember anything. I was intubated immediately and taken to hospital.'
Medics discovered she had at least two litres of fluid on her lungs, which were also extremely damaged from smoking and vaping.
Ms Brielle said: 'My body was trying to force out the vape juice inside my lungs which was like concrete. It was pure black and bloody. At the hospital, they were sucking it out of me.'
'It felt like there was a popped balloon in my lungs. I had to do breathing and lungs exercises before I was discharged. I've been left with a minor brain injury due to lack of oxygen to my brain,' she added.
She was told by doctors that there is still a high possibility of her lungs collapsing again.
She said: 'They really saved my life. They told me if I'd waited any longer, I wouldn't have been here. I haven't touched a vape since.
'I would say to anyone else quit any way you can. Do it for your health, your family, your life, your lungs - whatever motivates you, use that reason and stop. I wouldn't wish what I'd been through on anyone else. I feel grateful to be alive.'
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.
Vapes with appealing flavors such as cotton candy and creme brulee have hooked millions of young people.
Figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) show the number of pupils who vape at least weekly in their final year of secondary school has more than doubled in Wales from 6.6 per cent in 2017 to 13.6 per cent in 2021.
This is despite sales of vapes to under-18s being banned, with anyone caught flogging them to children threatened with fines and prosecution by Trading Standards.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis that shows millions of US school students are also using e-cigarettes.
Over 6.2 million school-age children tried tobacco products, such as vapes, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco in 2023.
Among those who tried e-cigarettes, about 47 percent of them vape to this day and about 25 percent vape daily, about the same rate as in 2022.
Everything you need to know about e-cigarettes
How much nicotine is in an e-cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes, containing various different nicotine levels.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20mg/ml equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britain's most popular vapes, is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.
How many cigarettes are 'in' an e-cigarette?
The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say.
It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.
Experts say for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs equate to ten normal cigarettes.
Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and green gummy bear
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco-products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that can't get washed away.
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.
English (US)