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22nd January 2024
09:04am GMT
A 22-year-old has been forced to have a double lung transplant after his heavy vaping left him fighting for his life.
Vaping has exploded in popularity in recent years as people look for alternatives to smoking, and in particular disposable vapes have become hugely popular amongst young people thanks to bright packaging and sweet flavours.
The NHS does suggest e-cigarettes as an alternative to cigarette smoking and a good way to give up cigarettes, but there are still risk factors associated with it.
In particular, there are concerns over the health impacts vaping could have on people who never smoked in the first place.
Because vapes still contain nicotine - often at higher concentrations than most other tobacco products - people can become addicted to them.
A 22-year-old in the US has been forced to have a double lung transplant because of his addiction to vaping.
Jackson Allard, from North Dakota, went to the doctor with stomach trouble in October 2023.
But when doctors ran tests on him, they discovered he had a rare form of influenza and double pneumonia.
His condition was so severe that he was transferred to the University of Minnesota and placed on life support.
After three months fighting for his life, during which doctors said he had just a "1 per cent chance of living", Allard had a successful double lung transplant on January 1 this year.
His grandmother Doreen Hurlburt told local news channel Valley News Live: “At one point a doctor said he had a 1 per cent chance of living and we said, ‘He’s fighting, he’s fought for how many weeks we’re going to give him a chance to fight, we’re not going to stop any procedures or anything’.”
She described her grandson as a "friendly" and "outgoing", saying that "everybody’s just attracted to his energy and how much fun he is."
Speaking about Allard's vaping, his grandmother he was a "heavy vaper" and his family kept telling him "over and over again" to kick the habit.
However, he would tell them: "It's better than cigarettes."
"Well they (doctors) said, with cigarettes in 50 years you’ll have lung cancer, in five years, if you vape they will see you with permanent lung damage," Doreen explained.
Dr. Stephanie Hanson at Sanford said: “Vaping or e-cigarette use is relatively new, so we don’t necessarily know a lot of the long-term effects of vaping and that’s honestly one of the scariest things about it.”
Although the transplant was a success and Allard is now recovering in hospital, his life will never be the same again.
He will never be able to drink alcohol or smoke again, and will be staying in Minneapolis for at least six months to receive regular check-ups.
He will also likely need another transplant in his life.
A GoFundMe has been launched by his grandmother, which has raised $20,970 towards the $30,000 goal.
Last year, the UK government launched a consultation on vapes amid worries that young people and children are becoming addicted to them.
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