Draven Hatfield: Boy, 19, says he suffered lung collapse 4 times due to vaping 'every day, all the time' since he was 13
HARTS, WEST VIRGINIA: A teen, who began smoking when he was 13, said his addiction has damaged his lungs and caused them to collapse four times. Draven Hatfield of Harts, West Virginia, took up vaping because he thought it was a "neat trend." The 19-year-old said that he initially vaped on the weekends before the habit advanced into "every day, all the time." However, it wasn't until he got told that his lungs looked like he'd smoked “three packs of cigarettes a day for at least 30 years,” by doctors that he linked his health scares to vaping.
Recounting his vaping habit, Hatfield said that he vaped box mods which are larger vapes with more power and flavor than regular ones. He then switched to disposable e-cigarettes three years later. "I started vaping because it was just a neat trend and I was young and I picked up on it. When I first started, I'd usually only vape on the weekends and eventually, I was vaping every day all the time. At least once a day I was refilling it, sometimes once every two days. I moved on to the disposable vapes and probably used one disposable every two to three days. I didn't smoke before I started vaping. During one period I smoked while vaping for probably around a month and a half, and then I quit," he said, as per the Daily Mail.
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Vaping teen who started at 13 is left with collapsed lung for the 4th time https://t.co/9Q6lceLDMb #Draven Hatfield #dangers of vaping #vaping #vaping devices #e-cigarettes
— Scallywagandvagabond (@ScallywagNYC) April 4, 2023
Hatfield's lung collapsed four times in four months
The teenager reportedly suffered lung collapse four times in four months. In October 2017, he was hospitalized after suddenly suffering severe chest pain and cramps down his left side. He was told that his left lung had collapsed. Draven had spontaneous pneumothorax or a collapsed lung. The condition’s symptoms include sharp chest pain which gets worse with a deep breath or cough, a rapid heart rate, and fatigue. A week later, he was again rushed to the hospital as his lung collapsed for a second time. However, it was not until December when his right lung collapsed that connected his health problems to vapes and decided to quit.
His condition did not get better as his lung collapsed for a fourth time in February 2022 while he was at school. "On the way to the hospital everything was looking good and when I got there, they had to do surgery on me," he said. He said that doctors performed a bullectomy which involved removing air pockets from his right lung. "It involved attaching the wall of my ribs, there's a chemical process of attaching, they scrape the air bubbles off my lungs," he explained. Although Hatfield has recovered from the "scary" ordeal, he still suffers from chest pains.
'It made me realize how dangerous vaping can be'
The 19-year-old now plans on spreading awareness about the dangers of vaping. "It made me realize how dangerous vaping can be. The specialist said that it developed air bubbles on my lungs and they'd burst and would leak air and that would cause my lung to collapse," he said. "The doctor said that my lungs looked like I'd smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for at least 30 years. I was pretty upset. I thought vaping was better than smoking and I was worried about my future. I was very scared."
'I'll never touch a vape or smoke again'
Despite quitting vaping, Hatfield is left with scares and is worried that his lung will collapse again. "I'll never touch a vape or smoke again. I'm very positive that vaping has done damage, my specialist and lung doctor were also positive about that. To quit vaping, I used nicotine gum and tricked my mind, I used it and lowered the mg and eventually chewed regular gum. I don't think a lot of young people are aware that vaping can be this serious. I'd like more to be aware that there are implications for vaping."