A young man is warning social media users to quit vaping after he suffered a heart attack at age 24. According to People, Jacob Temple, from Kentucky, US, took to TikTok to issue a dire warning to people who vape to quit immediately. "I now have the lungs of a 70-year-old man," he said, adding that he has permanent scarring on part of his lungs after years of vaping, a habit he picked up at age 12. He also said that he feels like he is constantly breathing through a straw and unable to get enough air.
"I can never inflate or deflate my lungs to 100% again in my life. Feels like I'm breathing through a straw constantly, always, just never getting enough air and there's nothing that can be done," Mr Temple said, per the outlet.
He further shared that his vaping habit even led him to suffer a "minor" heart attack called an anterior myocardial infarction. "My whole body was fighting to stay alive at a certain point," he added.
Mr Temple said that it is too late to repair the physical damage to his lungs, but he hopes sharing his experience will help motivate others to quit.
"The worst part about it is I still have good days and bad days. Sometimes I'm perfectly fine and I can be pretty active and live a fairly normal life as long as I have my rescue inhaler. Other times, I can't function and I can't sleep. It was fun while it lasted, but now I am paying for it dearly," he stated.
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E-cigarettes, often marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, pose significant health risks. Despite their popularity, particularly among young adults and teenagers, research from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has highlighted their harmful effects. E-cigarettes contain nicotine and other toxic chemicals that can damage the lungs, heart, and overall well-being. While they may help some quit smoking, their long-term consequences are still emerging.
Notably, a recent report published in the American Journal of Case Reports highlighted the link between vaping and fatal lung cancer in a 51-year-old man. The man had been vaping for 11 years. While the authors said further research would be needed "to investigate the long-term effects of e-cigarettes and their possible role in lung cancer development and progression," they said the man's case "highlights a potential association between (e-cigarette) use and malignancy."
