At just 20-years-old, Kai did not expect his vaping habits to land him in hospital
A ‘heavy’ vaper who says he often ploughed his way through “3000 puff vapes” in a matter of days says his habit left him with a collapsed lung.
Kai Boswell, a musician from Oldham, was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital last month after feeling a ‘dull ache’ in his chest. Terrifying scans revealed this was the result of a “fully collapsed left lung”.
The 20-year-old student and singer’s ordeal coincided with revelations from a breakthrough study by Manchester Metropolitan University into the effects of vaping.
It suggested what is widely believed to be a ‘safer alternative’ could be just as harmful as smoking cigarettes.
Kai is now urging others to understand the dangers of electronic cigarettes.
He said: “Just don’t do it. I always had this idea in my head that like vaping couldn’t hurt me that it was like a form of smoking that couldn’t hurt me.
“It’s honestly just proved to me that like it can hurt you in the same way or even worse.”
The artist, who studies at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, knew something was wrong when he sat up in bed and felt an ache when he breathed in.
“I noticed kind of a pain travel down from the left side of my neck down to my chest,” he said. “I went to A&E and I was waiting 11 hours with chest pain.
“When they finally got me through they sent me straight through for a chest x-ray and I basically had a fully collapsed lung on my left side.
“Usually like a collapsed lung is just kind of a small part, but mine was like my whole lung.”
Following surgery, Kai was told he had blisters on his lungs that were atypical for people who smoke “cigarettes and weed”, with vaping being the “likely cause”.
Kai’s health crisis coincided with bombshell claims from Dr Maxime Boidin, leader of the world’s first controlled study into vaping’s long-term effects at Manchester Metropolitan University, which dominated headlines across the UK.
The study, which concludes this month, has shocked even Boidin, who said: “What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers.”
With the initial findings of the study highlighting the link between vaping and cardiovascular problems, Dr Boidin believes the correlation could be due to inflammation caused by nicotine, as well as the metals and chemicals found in vapes, which include propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine.
As the flavourings used in vape liquids often contain chemicals such as carbonyl compound, vape consumption can also lead to artery inner wall damage and cell death due to inflammation and oxidative stress
Once a “heavy vaper” who picked up the habit at 16 along with his peers at sixth form, Kai’s ordeal has taught him a valuable lesson.
He said: “I haven’t vaped since the day I went into hospital now, it’s definitely, kind of traumatizing a little bit, for sure.
“I just think there should be probably more restrictions, especially in terms of advertising them as they are kind of like appealing to younger people or appealing to kind of a clientele of people who aren’t previous smokers.”
The musician, who regularly plays gigs alongside his studies, said he will not be back to his full ability for another three months, meaning he is unable to work and has missed vital time at university.
“It’s been quite physically and kind of emotionally challenging to deal with that,” he said. “For anyone wanting to vape, I would just say avoid it.”
This article was originally published by a www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .