Student shares shocking images of his lungs after vaping for a year caused them to collapse

An 18-year-old student says vaping almost killed him after his lung collapsed and he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

A student has shared shocking images of his lungs after he claimed vaping for a year caused them to collapse.

Chance Ammirata says he would vape one mint Juul pod every couple of days — the equivalent of 10 cigarettes-worth of nicotine a day.

But last week the 18-year-old needed emergency surgery to repair damage he says was caused by the toxic chemicals from the trendy devices.

Mr Ammirata, from Florida, US, started vaping about 18 months ago after believing it was a “safe” alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Chance Ammirata suffered a collapsed lung, which he has put down to vaping.

Last Monday he recalled struggling to sleep because of a pain in his left side but presumed he had pulled a muscle.

The following day he went bowling with a friend and was left in agony just trying to sit in a plastic chair.

“I remember she made me laugh and it felt like my chest was collapsing, like I was having a heart attack,” he told DailyMail.com.

His friend decided it was time he went to hospital and after waiting five hours he was suddenly surrounded by surgeons.

They told him his left lung had collapsed and he was rushed in for an operation to have a tube inserted into his lung to keep it inflated.

Chance was in shock — he hadn’t suffered any other symptoms such as cough or wheezing, and said the diagnosis was “completely abrupt”.

He added: “When they did the actual major surgery to reinflate my lungs, the surgeon said, ‘whatever you’ve been smoking has been leaving these black dots on your lungs’.”

Chance Ammirata shared these shocking images of his lungs on social media.

He also shared pictures of himself from his hospital bed.

He was told that the collapsed lung was likely caused by vaping.

EMERGENCY SURGERY

Surgeons were able to repair the hole, but he was told that the “black dots” will likely take years to heal and may never disappear at all.

Chance was told he won’t be able to do cross-country running or scuba dive and it’ll be a while before he can fly.

He is due to have the tube removed from his chest this week.

The teen, who says he’s never smoked cigarettes, is now warning others of the dangers of vaping.

Sharing a shocking image of his lungs on social media, he wrote: “You thought Juuls were safe. So did I. The black dots on my lungs are reminiscence of juuling [sic].

“I’ve been doing it for a year and a half and can never do it again — you really shouldn’t either. I know how hard it is to change anyone’s mind who’s addicted because I was too.

“And I don’t think anyone could have said anything to make me stop. But your lungs most likely look like this too if you’ve been smoking.

“Don’t let it get worse — please stop — like really please. It’s so f*****g scary.”

My chest tube was just removed. I can’t stop shaking but this experience has been insane it’s gonna be a long two week healing process. pic.twitter.com/RGNKglmBZw

— Chance Ammirata (@Chanceammirata) August 6, 2019

EXPERT WARNING

It comes just weeks after eight teenagers were hospitalised with severe lung damage in the US after inhaling THC via an e-cigarette.

The youngsters arrived at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin with extreme coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, fatigue and weight loss.

Experts have previously warned that most e-cigarettes are contaminated with nasty toxins.

Scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health tested 75 popular e-cigarette products, including single use cartridges and refillable e-liquids.

They found almost one in three contained traces of endotoxin, a microbial agent found on gram-negative bacteria.

And 80 per cent contained traces of glucan, which is found in the cell walls of most fungi.

They warned exposure to these toxins has been linked to a number of health problems, including asthma, reduced lung function and inflammation.

E-cigarettes are widely considered to be safer than smoking cigarettes.

While they do contain nicotine — the addictive part of a cigarette — they don’t contain any tobacco.

Health officials, including Public Health England, recommend vaping to smokers trying to quit.

But countless experts have urged caution, warning not enough is known about the long-term effects of vaping.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and was republished with permission