Mega-vaping addict hospitalised with collapsed lungs and ‘black goo’ pouring from her mouth and nose

A woman who was so addicted to vaping that she showered with her e-cigarette nearly died when her lungs collapsed and black gunk poured from her mouth and nose.

Jordan Brielle had been smoking since she was a teenager, but in 2021 she quit and decided to switch to vaping.

But the 32-year-old soon became addicted and spent huge sums of money to maintain her new habit.

Ms. Brielle, of Cincinnati, Ohio, first noticed her health deteriorating in November 2023, when she began to experience a distinct “heavy” feeling in her chest.

Although the residential counselor had to go to the hospital two or three times a week due to breathing problems, she continued to vape.

In May this year, she was rushed to hospital after her partner found her unconscious on her bed, with “black mucus” dripping from her nose and mouth.

Once at the hospital, doctors sucked two liters of “black” fluid from her lungs and put her into an induced coma that lasted 11 days.

Mrs Brielle admitted that she has not touched an e-cigarette since then and is now warning others to stop doing so.

She said: ‘I was totally addicted. I was vaping so much that I was sleeping with it, it was taking me into the shower. I was vaping excessively.

‘Then, in mid-November, I started feeling a heavy feeling in my chest. At first it was just a chest infection or bronchitis, so I kept going to the hospital with breathing problems.

‘I had a terrible cough and had to go to the hospital two or three times a week for help. I had little to no voice.

“Every time they sent me home. It felt like there was 80 pounds of pressure on my chest. I had never felt so sick in my life.

‘My body swelled from my ankles to my kneecaps. I kept going to the hospital as my condition got worse.

‘My skin turned grey, I couldn’t concentrate, I was completely out of sorts. It hurt to walk. I could barely do anything. No one knew what was really wrong with me. I felt like I was dying.’

Even when she contracted Covid-19 and developed pneumonia, she said she continued to vape despite her health concerns.

It was only after her hospital stay that she decided to finally quit e-cigarettes.

Mrs. Brielle said: ‘When he wanted to wake me up, [before a night shift]he said black mucus was coming out of my mouth and nose. He said I was gasping for air but couldn’t breathe. I was unresponsive and had a weak pulse.

‘He started sucking the sputum from my nose and mouth to revive me.

“He called 911 because the resuscitation wasn’t working. I don’t remember anything. I was immediately intubated and taken to the hospital.”

Doctors discovered she had at least two liters of fluid in her lungs, which were also severely damaged by smoking and vaping.

Ms Brielle said: ‘My body was trying to force the vape fluid out of my lungs, which were like concrete. It was pure black and bloody. At the hospital they sucked it out of me.’

“It felt like a balloon had burst in my lungs. I had to do breathing and lung exercises before I was discharged. I have been left with a slight brain injury from the lack of oxygen to my brain,” she added.

Doctors told her there was still a high chance that her lungs would collapse again.

She said: ‘They literally saved my life. They said if I had waited any longer I wouldn’t be here. I haven’t touched a vape since.

“I would tell anyone, quit in whatever way you can. Do it for your health, your family, your life, your lungs – whatever motivates you, use that reason and quit. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone else. I’m grateful to be alive.”

In 2022, nearly 350 hospital admissions were recorded in England due to vaping. The main cause of these is thought to be respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, pneumonia and in severe cases respiratory failure.

Millions of young people are already addicted to e-cigarettes with attractive flavors such as cotton candy and crème brûlée.

Figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) show that the number of pupils in Wales in their final year of secondary school who vaped at least weekly has more than doubled, from 6.6 per cent in 2017 to 13.6 per cent in 2021.

This is despite the fact that the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s is illegal, with anyone caught selling them to children risking a fine and prosecution by Trading Standards.

An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that millions of American students also use e-cigarettes.

In 2023, more than 6.2 million school-age children tried tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco.

Of those who have tried e-cigarettes, about 47 percent still vape, and about 25 percent vape daily. This is about the same as in 2022.