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7th June 2024
12:53pm BST
Sarah Griffin, who hails from Belfast, already suffered from asthma and was rushed to hospital as a result of breathing difficulties.
Upon her admission to hospital last year, her oxygen levels were found to be ‘very low’, and a scan then found her lungs were ‘badly injured’.
“Everything combined had a massive impact on her body, extremely quickly,” her mum Mary said.
“When we got to ICU the team worked on Sarah for four and a half hours before having to put her into an induced coma.
“There were tubes, wires, and machines everywhere- it was heart-breaking to see her like that.”
Thankfully, Sarah came through and is recovering, but she has been left with permanent damage to her lungs.
“There is absolutely no words to describe when you think your child is going to die,” Mary told BBC News about the ordeal.
Sarah had been addicted to vaping since she was nine years old, with her habit seeing her get through a 4,000-puff vape in just a few days.
To put that into perspective, in the UK, the typical regulation vape has just 600 puffs.
Worryingly, Sarah’s vaping habit isn’t a rare one among youngsters.
The BBC reports that recent research suggests one in five kids aged 11-17 have now tried vaping. This is three times as many as in 2020.
“Don’t start doing it, because once you start doing it, you don’t stop doing it,” she said of vaping.
“You only stop when you basically have to, when it’s a life or death situation.”
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