A teenager from Virginia, in the United States, started a campaign for people to vape less. Draven Hatfield, 19, was diagnosed with the lung capacity of an individual who has smoked at least three packs of cigarettes a day for 30 years or an elderly person who has been a regular smoker all his life.
The young man says he started smoking at age 13, hidden from his parents and on weekends, to follow the fashion of the moment. However, he soon became addicted and started using electronic cigarettes daily. Heavy consumption even prevented Draven from pursuing his dream of becoming a musician and singer.
The American was hospitalized for the first time at the age of 17. Over the next two years, there would be four more hospitalizations to deal with collapsed lungs that prevented him from breathing. In the last admission, in February 2022, he needed artificial ventilation to survive. Draven also had to undergo emergency surgery to remove air bubbles trapped in his lungs.
The young man was treated with nicotine patches, and he no longer smokes. Still, he says, in an interview with the Daily Mail, that he continues to experience terrible pain as a result of addiction.
health risks
The risks of vaping are similar to those of conventional cigarettes. In addition to fatigue and difficulty breathing, smoking increases the risk of hypertension by 100% and the risk of heart attack by 80%, in addition to increasing the incidence of cancer, impairing fertility and causing reflux.
Even e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine can pose serious health risks. Many of the products have, in their formula, substances without scientific proof of safety. One of them is glycerol, present in almost all vapers, and which has already been pointed out in initial studies as a probable cause of pneumonia.
prohibited in Brazil
Although it is common to find users of this type of device in Brazil, electronic cigarettes have been banned in the country since 2009. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) pointed out that there is not enough scientific data on the consequences of vaping for health and which, therefore, should not be sold.
However, reports from Anvisa itself show the difficulty of inspecting this trade. Importers take advantage of loopholes, such as the absence of clear punishments for users, to continue bringing the product to Brazil. According to the report on electronic cigarettes published in 2016 by the agency itself, at least 30% of Brazilian smokers have already tried vaping.
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