A 12-year-old girl from Belfast who suffered a collapsed lung and spent four days in an induced coma has warned other children not to vape. Sarah Griffin, who was a heavy vaper with asthma, was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties a month ago.
She told the BBC she hid vapes from her mother, cutting holes in her bedroom carpet, and would vape first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Despite it being illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, she bought them over the counter and became addicted. By summer she was getting through a 4,000-puff vape in just a few days.
Her condition worsened after she developed a cold, described by her doctor as a "perfect storm" combining asthma, poor inhaler use and vaping. An X-ray showed only one lung working properly, and she was placed in intensive care and then an induced coma. Consultant respiratory paediatrician Dr Dara O'Donoghue called youth vaping "a healthcare emergency" that had to be addressed urgently.
Sarah's mother, Mary, said she feared her daughter would die. Sarah has been left with permanent damage to her lungs and now does exercises expected of an 80-year-old. Sarah urged others: "Don't start doing it, because once you start doing it, you don't stop doing it. You only stop when you basically have to, when it's a life or death situation."
The UK government has announced plans to restrict the marketing and sale of vapes aimed at children. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said proposals would make vapes less colourful and less appealing to children. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said head teachers and parents were concerned about children being targeted by vape companies, while shadow health secretary Wes Streeting promised a Labour government would come down on firms pushing flavours like 'rainbow burst' at children.
Recent figures suggest one in five children aged 11-17 have now tried vaping, three times as many as in 2020, with nearly one in ten 11- to 15-year-olds using them, according to a 2021 survey.
