Teen vaper hospitalised as lung bursts
Vaping since she was 15 – she thought it was harmless. Read more about Kyla’s story of being hospitalised.
It’s not just teenagers who are experiencing terrifying health issues. Alarmingly, even children under five are being hospitalised with vaping-related conditions such as collapsed lungs.
According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the popularity of vaping among children is increasing rapidly, with 20% of children aged 11 to 17 having tried vaping in 2023, double the number who smoke cigarettes. The toxic chemicals in vapes, such as lead and uranium, pose additional risks, potentially stunting brain growth in teenagers.
What happened to Kyla?
Kyla had previously been rushed to hospital last November with a suspected heart attack, which an X-ray revealed to be a hole in her lung after a bleb, caused by vaping, had formed.
She was taken to hospital again in February when she was told it had healed, only for her lung to collapse weeks later.
What is a bleb?
A pulmonary bleb is a small collection of air between the lung and the outer surface of the lung (visceral pleura), usually found in the upper lobe of the lung. When a bleb ruptures, the air escapes into the chest cavity, causing a pneumothorax (air between the lung and chest cavity), which can result in a collapsed lung.
Kyla’s story
Her ‘terrified’ dad rushed his daughter to hospital when a hole burst in her lung after she vaped the equivalent of 400 cigarettes a week.
Mark Blight ‘cried like a baby’ when he got a call saying his daughter Kyla, 17, had collapsed and turned blue during a sleepover at a friend’s house early on May 11.
Kyla had thought vaping was ‘harmless’ until the morning that her lung collapsed because vaping had burst a small air blister (a bleb) on her lungs.
After nearly going into cardiac arrest, Kyla underwent a five-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove part of her lung.
It would be another two weeks before the student was allowed home.
Kyla’s father was terrified
Mark 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 – she was so close to having a cardiac arrest on that Friday.’
Vaping is wrongly perceived by kids and parents as harmless
Vaping since she was 15 when she saw schoolmates pick it up, Kyla had been ploughing through an entire 4,000-puff vape each week.
That’s the equivalent of 400 cigarettes a week, or 57 a day. She believed it to be harmless.
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’.
‘I honestly thought they were harmless and wouldn’t do anything to anyone, even though I had seen so many things about it. I feel like everyone has that same view’.
Middle of the night dash to hospital
It was at 4am when Kyla, who was staying at a friend’s house, collapsed and turned blue. Her hosts called her father who took her directly to hospital.
‘Her lung collapsed this time due to the hole. They put a drain in her. She screamed. She was close to having a cardiac arrest’.
After five and a half hours of surgery, the surgeon informed Kyla’s father that he’s done a lot of similar operations recently.
John Dicey, Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway, comments,
“The health authorities are concerned that the truth about the dangers of vaping will deter smokers from switching to vaping instead of smoking. For that reason, the dangers tend to be downplayed – leaving youngsters like Kyra under the misapprehension that vaping is safe. It simply is not”.
Further reading
- Read the full story in The Metro
- See how it can be easy to with our quit vaping programmes whatever age you are
- Read our top tips to stop vaping guide
