Daniel, a 17-year-old from Petah Tikva, experienced a life-threatening situation due to a pulmonary complication after he started using electronic cigarettes. The Schneider Children's Medical Center’s medical team, who saved his life, linked vaping to a rare medical complication and warned about the serious consequences of using electronic cigarettes.
"The case involved a 17-year-old boy, completely healthy with no prior medical conditions, who had been smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for over a year,” Dr. Patrick Stafler, a senior physician at the hospital’s Institute of Pulmonology, explained.
“Recently, he began vaping and started experiencing chills and chest pain and was admitted to the hospital’s ER with severe lung bleeding weeks later. He was coughing up half a cup of fresh blood. The scan showed a frightening image of severe pulmonary hemorrhage,” he added.
"He was healthy and began coughing and spitting up blood within a day or two. His X-ray was extremely alarming and we realized it was a very acute, life-threatening condition requiring ventilation. We administered a treatment of steroids at ten times the usual dose. His condition improved within a few days and he was discharged after being hospitalized for 10 days. It was a rare and severe case,” he said.
"I started smoking at 15,” Daniel recalled. “One of my friends began smoking, then another. Everyone started smoking, so I did too. Before I started vaping, I thought it was better than regular cigarettes because they seemed less harmful. I didn't realize it wasn’t better and that it could cause more harm.”
“I always knew this could happen but kept smoking,” he added. “I cut down significantly but it didn’t help much. I can't explain what happened because I don’t vape often but I ended up in the hospital because of it. Before I went to the hospital, I had a headache and fever for two days. Then I started coughing up blood.”
"At one point, I was coughing up a lot of blood for about an hour. I felt like I had to go to the hospital because something was clearly wrong. They ran several tests and I was immediately delivered to intensive care. I was there for four days, receiving a lot of antibiotics and steroids,” he recounted.
“On the third day, after all the blood tests were done, they said there the condition and the vaping were connected. I have no background conditions and am otherwise healthy, so the team saw no other reason. Blood tests also showed no viruses or infections."
"My parents were shocked and I didn’t listen to them for a long time,” he said. “They didn’t like that I was vaping and told me to stop. Today, I think it's very harmful and it's better not to do it. Regular cigarettes cause long-term damage, while vaping can lead to serious harm in a very short time. I’m quitting vaping and haven’t smoked since I was hospitalized. I feel great today."
The Health Ministry has warned against the use of electronic cigarettes in recent years. Although their sale is prohibited for those under 18 enforcement and regulation in the country are lax and many teenagers still use them. According to the ministry's smoking report, 15% of boys in 10th grade were using e-cigarettes in 2022, along with nearly 5% of girls.
"Considering how widespread e-cigarette use is, few cases end up in the ER,” Dr. Stafler said. “However, it's very important for us to make this case public knowledge because it raises public awareness of the real dangers hiding behind vaping. We've investigated all possible explanations for the pulmonary hemorrhage and the recent vaping and it's highly likely there's a connection."
"We wish the teenager a full recovery and commend the medical team at Schneider Children's Medical Center for saving his life,” The Israel Cancer Association said in a statement. “It's essential for parents and teenagers to understand the scientific truth that the tobacco giants are trying to conceal.”
"Electronic cigarettes are highly addictive smoking products that were introduced as a way for tobacco and nicotine companies to bring young users into the addiction cycle after years of declining smoking rates among teens,” it added.
“This is why e-cigarettes are colorful, flavored and sweet-smelling, aimed at appealing to kids and teenagers, luring in a new and fresh audience of addicts who will become the next generation of young users, all to maintain multi-billion-dollar profits at the expense of public health. We call for an immediate ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and to actively enforce restrictions on the sale of smoking products to children and teenagers.”
"Electronic cigarettes contain nicotine and are addictive. According to scientific studies, they cause symptoms like coughing, vomiting, increased risk of asthma, high blood pressure, heart attacks and damage to the respiratory system and lungs,” The Israel Cancer Association added.
“They can also impair brain development in teens and young adults, leading to issues like attention deficit, learning difficulties, emotional instability, depression and anxiety. Dozens of cases of EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury) have been recorded worldwide,” the statement read.
“This severe lung damage is caused by harmful substances entering the lungs through vaping, including, in some cases, the additive vitamin E acetate which can lead to respiratory failure."
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