An American teenager has been put into a medically-induced coma after long-term vaping caused catastrophic damage to her lungs.
It is understood that the teenager, named as 18-year-old Maddie Nelson, had used a vaping device on a daily basis for almost three years.
Ms. Nelson was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties. An X-ray revealed severe damage to her lungs, so doctors decided to put her into a coma. She was diagnosed with acute eosinophilic pneumonia, a life-threatening condition caused by a build-up of white blood cells in the lungs in response to inflammation.
The teenager is now out of hospital, but still needs oxygen supply daily.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 200 people across the United States suffer from severe respiratory illness attributed to vaping, with the first confirmed fatality linked to it occurring in Illinois last week.