18yo Who Has Been Vaping Juul For 18 Months Undergoes Emergency Surgery For Collapsed Lung

Chance Ammirata is an 18-year-old student who had been vaping with his Juul for 18 months when his lungs suddenly collapsed. The teen, who is from Florida, US, had the habit of vaping one mint Juul pod every few days until last week, when he was admitted into the hospital around the end of July. Juuls are a type of electronic cigarette in a vape pen form.

Source: News.com.au

According to News.com.au, he suspected that there was something wrong as he was struggling to sleep last Monday (29th July) as he felt a pain in his left side. However, he thought that he had pulled a muscle and didn’t do anything about it.

The next day, he went to the bowling alley with his friend but was in so much pain, he could barely sit on a chair. “I remember she made me laugh and it felt like my chest was collapsing, like I was having a heart attack,” he said. They went to the hospital and waited for five hours before surgeons suddenly surrounded him.

Source: Daily Mail

He was rushed to the operating theatre for emergency surgery as the doctors discovered that his left lung had collapsed, and they needed to insert a tube inside the organ to keep it inflated. During the surgery, they also repaired the hole in his lungs but the surgeon told Ammirata, “Whatever you’ve been smoking has been leaving these black dots on your lungs.”

Although the hole was repaired, Ammirata was told that the “black dots” may take years to heal and might never disappear at all. Before his surgery, he had not suffered from any other symptoms such as coughing or wheezing and has never smoked cigarettes before.

Source: Daily Mail

He shared the images of his lungs on social media and claims that it was caused by vaping Juul. 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,” he added. Due to the condition of his lungs, Ammirata is not allowed to do cross-country running or scuba diving any more and will have to wait for them to heal before he can fly.

Source: Daily Mail