‘Please quit, it’s not worth it,’ pleads man, 25, who ‘vaped a HOLE in his lung’ and was left struggling to breathe

A MAN is pleading with people to quit vaping after he was left with a hole in his lung and struggling to breathe.

Joseph Lawrence, 25, puffed on e-cigarettes every day for years before being rushed to A&E with an almost collapsed lung.

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A lung collapse happens when air builds up between the lung and chest wall putting pressure on the lung so it cannot expand as much as it normally does.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Joseph, from Las Vegas, said: “If you vape, please consider quitting. 

“I had a hole in my lung the other day and had to be rushed to the ER because I could not breathe.

“Thankfully I’m doing okay now and it didn’t fully collapse.

“Please take care of yourselves and consider quitting, it’s not worth it.”

A record 4.5million Brits now vape, with 15.5 per cent of under-25s now puffing on one every day.

Experts are particularly concerned about growing use in kids, with one in ten children aged 11 to 15 regularly using them, according to the NHS.

At least two pupils in every year 10 classroom have vaped at one point or another, the health service reports.

Booming popularity of disposable brands like Elf Bar and Lost Mary saw Rishi Sunak announce a clampdown on their use last year.

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said she is confident the ban will come into force early next year.

Research suggests e-cigarettes are significantly healthier than traditional cigarettes, with the NHS recommending people use them to help them cut down on smoking.

But data on the long-term use of vapes and the impact on the body is sparse, and countless studies have shown vaping is not without risk.

If you are vaping over and over again, you are going to make the walls of the lungs lose their integrity

Dr Panagis GaliatsatosJohns Hopkins University

Joseph said doctors suspected his lung injury was caused by his daily vaping habit.

Dr Panagis Galiatsatos, of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, told DailyMail.com: “Inflammation is going to compromise the lungs.

“If you are vaping over and over again, you are going to make the walls of the lungs lose their integrity, become more compliant and then, in the right situation, that results in a tear.”