Teen vows ‘I’ll never vape again’ after his lung collapses four times
The 19-year-old said that even after he was told how severe the damage to his lungs was, he continued vaping until it collapsed for a fourth time.
Draven said he started vaping when he was just 13 years old and by the time he was 16 he was finishing a disposable vape every two days.
However, the intense vaping began to take a toll on his body. In October 2021, the former construction worker began experiencing severe chest pains and cramps.
After a visit to the hospital, doctors told him his left lung had collapsed and that he had to undergo further internal inspections.
To do this a chest tube had to be inserted into his body, but when he underwent the procedure it was found that his body hadn’t been numbed properly.
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Draven described the ordeal as “the most painful experience of my life”, but worse was to come when the doctor gave Draven his damning diagnosis.
Draven said: “The doctor said that my lungs looked like I’d smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for at least 30 years.
“I was pretty upset. I thought vaping was better than smoking and I was worried about my future. I was very scared.”
Despite being told he had a collapsed lung, Draven continued vaping.
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Draven said: “I didn’t connect it to the vapes at that point. It took three times of it collapsing before I connected it to the vapes.
“The third time I was in the middle of hitting vape and I went it [the lung] collapse. I just felt a pope and as I’d been through it I knew what it was. I was breathing difference and then every time I swallowed I had a little pinch in my side.”
Following the third collapse, Draven tried to stop vaping, but his efforts didn’t stop his lung from collapsing for a fourth time in February 2022, forcing him to have a bullectomy surgery to remove air pockets from his right lung.
Although Mr Hatfield no longer vapes, three years of intense vaping has left severe scars.
Mr Hatfield said: “I still feel pain to this day. On the collapsed side, I hurt pretty bad sometimes and I have scares, I feel like my lung will collapse again but then I realise it’s just the pain.
“I’ll never touch a vape or smoke again. I’m very positive that vaping has done the damage, my specialist and lung doctor were also positive on that.”
Vaping is incredibly popular both in the USA and UK. On vaping, the NHS said: “Experts agree vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking but it is not risk-free. Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes.
“While vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, it is unlikely to be totally harmless. Ideally, if you are vaping to quit smoking, you should aim to eventually stop vaping too.
“The healthiest option is not to smoke or vape.”