Vape horror as five-year old boy is rushed to hospital

A five-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after he spent a full day smoking a vape at a primary school.

The boy was taken to Geelong Hospital south-west of Melbourne vomiting and coughing on Friday after ingesting the dangerous chemicals from a nicotine vape three weeks ago.

The boy’s father said his son had been struggling to breathe since smoking the vape, and gasped and ‘vomited three times’ before being rushed to the emergency room. 

He’s now undergoing urgent testing to determine whether he has suffered any long term damage.

A five-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after he spent a full day smoking a vape (file image)

The boy was taken to hospital vomiting and coughing on Friday after ingesting the dangerous chemicals from a nicotine vape (file image)

The boy is undergoing urgent testing to determine whether he has any long term damage (file image)

The vape belonged to a seven-year-old friend who brought it to the school. By the end of the day, the vape was completely empty, according to the Herald Sun. 

Nicotine vapes must be bought with a prescription. 

Fruit-flavoured vapes though are readily accessible and fears are growing children as young as 10 are buying them from their peers in the schoolyard. 

The seemingly innocent alternatives often still contain nicotine, which is particularly harmful for young people, Barwon Health emergency department director Dr Belinda Hibble warned

The father said his son’s friend had encouraged him to suck on the vape because it tasted like grapes. 

‘The vape was empty by the time we picked them up from school,’ he said. ‘The innocence about it is so dangerous.’

In October, a mother issued a heartbreaking warning after her daughter, 15, took up vaping – only to then be rushed to the ICU with a rare lung illness.

Sydney teenager Dakota Stephenson went to hospital with a high temperature and back pain last September, seven months after she first started vaping with friends at school. 

Sydney schoolgirl Dakota Stephenson, 15, spent three days on partial ventilation struggling to breathe after taking up vaping

Dakota pictured left. Doctors at Randwick Children’s Hospital believe she was suffering from a recently discovered lung condition called EVALI

Dakota was diagnosed with hypoxia within hours – meaning her lungs weren’t getting enough air – and spent three days on partial ventilation struggling to breathe.

Her doctors at Randwick Children’s Hospital believe she was suffering from a lung condition called EVALI that was first reported in the US in 2019.

EVALI – which stands for e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury – is thought to be caused by vapes containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive substance also found in marijuana, and the additive vitamin E acetate.

Dakota’s mother Natasha Stephenson only found out her daughter had started vaping when she was admitted to hospital.

More to come