A dad has shared horrifying X-ray showing his teen son's lungs filled with oil, which he says is down to vaping.
Keith Mayo from Erie, Pennsylvania, said his son Anthony, 19, became seriously ill last week and was left struggling to breath due to his lungs being filled with solidified vape oil.
Speaking to the Metro, Keith said his son was told he now has the lungs of '60-year-old, two-packs-a-day smoker' and that the scarring within is permanent.
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The dad says his son was vaping for around two years before he became ill and used flavoured oils, including cotton candy and raspberry. His dad said Anthony also vaped THC on occasion.
He told the paper: "It's solidified. It's caked everything inside of his lungs.
"As the doctor says, anytime you put moisture into your lungs it's not good... If you put oil and moisture into your lungs, now you're causing complications."
He went on to say a doctor likened it to bacon grease that had congealed once it cooled. Lovely.
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Anthony is now recovering in hospital, where medics are treating him with 100 percent oxygen to help him breath more easily and to try and cough up some of the dried oil.
Keith is hopeful that because his son is so young, he will be able to make a quick recovery.
He said: "He is going to have some scarring. Whether it's profound, we don't know yet. It's a wait and see type of thing. He's young, he's 19, so he can recover from this."
Keith said his son believed that vaping was 'cool' and 'not bad for you' and admitted that he 'went along with it'.
He hit out at vaping companies, accusing them of targeting younger people with the flavours.
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Keith has shared Anthony's story as a hundreds of people in the US have been confirmed to have a mysterious lung disease associated with vaping.
So far six people have died and 530 people have been diagnosed with probable cases of vaping-related illnesses.
Authorities in the US are urging people to stop vaping while an investigation into the illness is carried out.
Following the sixth death, which happened in Kansas, Kansas State Health Officer Dr. Lee Norman said in a statement. "It is time to stop vaping. If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop."
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Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, from the Centre for Disease Control said previously: "While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products.
"People who do use e-cigarette products should monitor themselves for symptoms, for example, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and vomiting - and promptly seek medical attention for any health concerns."
Featured Image Credit: Keith Mayo