Vape addict left ’30 minutes from suffocating to death’ after waking up gasping for air

A man who says vaping heavily left him '30 minutes from suffocating to death' has told his terrifying tale.

It's really no secret that vaping is bad for your health, and while it is generally better than smoking the best option would be to not do either.

The idea that vaping can satisfy a craving for nicotine without the risk of landing you in the hospital or suffering long-term health issues has rather been disproven by the people who've ended up in dire need of treatment.

There are plenty who've ended up in hospital and even needed surgery due to the health impacts of vaping.

One man was left just minutes from death as he was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care after months of heavy vaping, and told his story as part of a new health campaign in his native Australia.

NSW Health Campaign

Xavier Roper told NCA Newswire had been puffing away regularly on an e-cigarette for 'between six and nine months' before ending up in hospital.

During his time as a heavy vaper Xavier could feel himself getting worse, describing his deteriorating condition feeling 'like a wet blanket over my lungs'.

In the end, things got so bad that he woke up one night gasping for air and he was rushed to hospital where doctors made a disturbing discovery.

They found that Xavier's blood oxygen levels were around 40 percent, which is very worrying when the ideal for the human body to function properly is around 95 percent.

A lack of enough oxygen moving around the body to refresh and enrich the cells is known as hypoxia and without enough of that vital element our bodies suffer damage and eventually die.

Getty Stock Photo

Xavier just about avoided intubation, which is where a tube is attached to a person's windpipe to do their breathing for them.

He realised that if he'd been admitted to hospital just half-an-hour later he could have died and is contributing to a health campaign in New South Wales in the hopes of warning others.

He said: "Going to the ICU was one of the scariest times of my life. I’ve not touched one since, it scared the hell out of me and I’ve been cold turkey since."

The Sydney resident described vaping as a 'pretty slippery slope' as you could go from having a puff or two on an e-cig at a party to 'having it constantly in your hand'.

Over here in the UK a crackdown on disposable vapes has been announced by the government over concerns that many children are picking up the habit.

The sale of disposable vapes will be phased out, and certain flavours will be restricted.

Topics: Health, Vaping, Australia

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker