A MAN ended up in hospital after his vaping habit left him coughing up three pints of blood, he claims.
Dustin Fitzgerald, 45, from Clinton, Indiana, US, said doctors diagnosed him with bacterial pneumonia caused by moisture trapped in his lungs from the e-cigarettes.
Dustin Fitzgerald, 45, from Clinton, Indiana, US, was hospitalised after he coughed up three pints of blood because of vaping
He ended up in hospital after coughing up into plastic bags, which nearly resulted in a blood transfusion
He had been a life-long smoker and got through up to sixty cigarettes a day before he switched to vapes in January 2022.
The saw filer puffed on them continuously for up to 12 hours a day for around ten months – admitting he used e-cigarettes containing liquid four times the legal UK limit – before he noticed himself starting to cough violently.
One night he recalled being unable to sleep, “waking up every five minutes” to cough.
He ended up in hospital after coughing into plastic bags, which nearly resulted in a blood transfusion.
Mr Fitzgerald started hacking before getting to hospital and continued when he arrived, – coughing for around eight hours in total.
He now wants to warn others of the dangers of vaping and urged people to “put it down the second you start coughing”, after doctors said his condition was caused by his vaping habit.
Mr Fitzgerald said: “I started vaping to quit smoking when they raised cigarette prices. I thought it would solve problems financially and health-wise, but I started to abuse it.
“Because you can vape inside I would vape constantly for ten to 12 hours a day while at work.
“When I noticed I was coughing blood I was freaked out — but I still didn’t make the connection it was from vaping.
“I ended up on oxygen in the ER, and breathing felt like someone had put ten elephants on my chest — and that was when they told me what caused it.
“If you ever decide to vape, do it wisely — and if you start coughing a lot, put it right down and walk away. It’s just not worth it.”
He added: “If you don’t smoke, it’s pointless starting to vape — so just don’t do it.”
Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by an infection — a bacterial one in Mr Fitzgerald’s case.
Most people get better in two to four weeks, but babies, older people, and people with heart or lung conditions are at risk of getting seriously ill and may need treatment in hospital.
Vaping can help smokers quit
Around 3.2million people in the UK use e-cigarettes and scientists are agreed, they can be useful aids to help smokers quit their habit.
Research suggests e-cigarettes are significantly less dangerous to people’s health than regular cigarettes.
A report published in 2015 by Public Health England (PHE) found that e-cigs are around 95 per cent less harmful than tobacco.
The NHS also recommends that people use e-cigarettes to help them cut down on smoking, with the hope of eventually quitting for good.
However, 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.
Scientists have linked e-cigarettes to increased risk of heart disease, lung inflammation and damage, as well as damage to the brain.
He noticed he was coughing up blood, so he and wife Amy Fitzgerald (pictured together), 43, rushed to the ER
Mr Fitzgerald said he had been trying for three years to quit the cigarettes before he started vaping.
He would smoke up to three packs of cigarettes a day, which he had done since he could legally buy them.
‘I found vaping harder to quit than meth’
The recovering meth addict had wanted to stop for financial and health reasons, but said he found the nicotine habit “harder to quit than meth”.
He quickly found himself hooked to vape pens after he quit cigarettes, and would puff away all day long to keep his mind off his cravings.
Mr Fitzgerald said: “I really did like it — I liked the taste — so would hit it more often than I used to smoke.”
He bought vape pens containing 8ml of fluid — four times the legal limit in the UK — and would finish the whole thing in less than a week.
But after several months, he began to notice himself developing a strong cough, but didn’t know why.
What are the symptoms of pneumonia?
Symptoms of pneumonia can start suddenly or gradually over a few days.
They include:
a cough – you may cough up yellow or green mucus (phlegm)
shortness of breath
a high temperature
chest pain
an aching body
feeling very tired
loss of appetite
making wheezing noises when you breathe – babies may also make grunting noises
feeling confused – this is common in older people
Source: The NHS
Over time it became more and more violent, and in October 2022, he visited a doctor about it.
He said: “I kept coughing and coughing. It would wake me up in the night. I just couldn’t stop.”
Mr Fitzgerald said he was wrongly diagnosed with bronchitis by his doctor at first.
‘I freaked out when I noticed the blood’
But later the same day, he noticed he was coughing up blood, so he and wife Amy Fitzgerald, 43, rushed to the ER.
He said: “When I noticed the blood, it really freaked me out. I was coughing up a lot, and it was straight blood.
“When I got there, the doctors said I had lost three whole pints. They even worried I would need a blood transfusion.”
Once in hospital, he was quarantined in the intensive care unit as doctors feared it could be down to hepatitis or tuberculosis, he said.
He was put on an oxygen supply with a mask around his head — but that didn’t stop him trying to sneak his vape in with him.
After three nights he returned home and hasn’t touched a vape pen since.
Hazel Cheeseman of charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has previously told The Sun: “The evidence is clear that if you’re a smoker it is better to switch to vaping but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.
“However, calmly pointing this out doesn’t make headlines. My fear is that overclaiming harms from vaping could cost lives if it deters a smoker from switching.”
George Conley, director of legislative affairs for the American Vapor Manufacturers Association added: “Without reviewing medical records and speaking to doctors, it is impossible to comment on these allegations except to say that they do not match the experiences of tens of millions of adult vapers around the globe.”