Mom reveals hidden danger from vaping after losing her son in just one year
A Mom Shares Her Story About Vaping
A Family's Loss From Vaping
Cindi Clark is a mom from Chester, Pennsylvania. She lost her son, Danny, because of vaping. Danny was 34 years old when he died. He did not use vapes for a long time. He started vaping a lot more in October 2023. Danny’s girlfriend did not like the smell of cigarettes. She thought vaping was safer. Danny used to smoke about a pack of cigarettes every day. Then he switched to vapes.
On December 12, 2023, something very sad happened. Danny went to bed, but he never woke up. Cindi got a call from her older son. He told her that Danny had passed away. The whole family was shocked. They only knew that Danny went to bed and did not wake up.
The night before he died, Danny’s girlfriend noticed something strange. She told Cindi that Danny was talking funny and had trouble walking. His speech was slurred. He lost his balance. The family thought maybe Danny had been drinking alcohol. But that was not the case.
Later, doctors did an autopsy. They checked Danny’s organs. They looked fine. Danny’s lungs did not look very bad, even though he smoked for years. The vapes did not cause popcorn lung or breathing problems. But the medical examiner wanted to know how strong Danny’s vapes were. They also asked how often Danny used his vape device.
Cindi said, "His girlfriend said that he would have it on the nightstand next to him when he went to bed so if he woke up [in the night] he would vape."
The autopsy showed something important. Danny had too much nicotine in his body. It was three times the normal level. Danny had nicotine poisoning. Cindi said, "The impairment that he was showing [before he died], were all signs of the nicotine being so high in the bloodstream that it started impairing his nervous system – he was slurring his speech, and he was having trouble with balance and coordination."
She added, "Ultimately he went to bed and it caused a heart attack."
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Now Cindi is sharing Danny’s story. She wants to warn others about the dangers of vaping. She hopes no other family will have to go through this pain.
Vaping Is Not Always Safer
Cindi thinks that vaping is not always a healthy option. She feels like her family was “cheated.” Danny thought vaping was safer than smoking. He did not know it could kill him. Cindi said, "He would have been so ped off [if he knew it would kill him] and I felt the same way."*
She explained that vapes have a very pure form of nicotine. This makes them more addictive than cigarettes. Cindi believes anything not natural is a risk to your body. She also says people do not know all the dangers of vaping. She feels that people do not get enough warning about how much nicotine is in each vape. She said, "I also don't think that there's any kind of monitoring on all of the devices and the percentage of nicotine that they get in their system."
There is no rule to check how much nicotine people are getting from vapes. This means people can get addicted easily. Cindi said, "There's no regulation on that at all so people are basically just getting addicted to this thing and it's toxic and they can just keep putting more and more and more in their system without any idea of what's happening as a result of it."
Many people worry about lung problems from vaping. But Cindi wants people to know about nicotine poisoning too. She thinks there should be stricter rules for vapes. Cindi said, "It's a false sense of security - people think they're not coughing, or they don't have pain in their chest but people don't know what's happening in other areas."
She wants to stop this from happening to other families. Cindi believes something must change.
Health Expert Warning
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Experts are learning more about vapes now. Many people think vapes are safer than cigarettes. Vapes do not have all the same bad chemicals as cigarettes. But vapes are not healthy. Scientists are studying how vapes can hurt people in the short and long run. Young people use vapes a lot. This worries health experts.
In the UK, the government wants to ban single-use vapes. This may start in June this year. While waiting for the ban, doctors are warning people to cut back on vaping.
Dr. Stewart Beggs is a dentist in London. He talks about vaping on TikTok. Dr. Beggs says people who vape too much can get something called “vape tongue.”
What Is Vape Tongue?
Vape tongue is when you lose your sense of taste. It is a side effect from vaping too much. Dr. Beggs says, "So vape tongue is when you start to lose your taste because you’ve been vaping so much, and this is really on the rise because of the popularity of these disposable vapes - which have all these ridiculous flavors. People end up absolutely caning these vapes and it causes such a massive increase in nicotine and a really, really dry mouth that you lose your sense of taste completely sometimes."
Experts at Healthline say there is not a lot of science on vape tongue. But many doctors and dentists talk about it online. They tell people to stop vaping or cut down a lot if they get vape tongue.
Simple Steps to Feel Better
Dr. Beggs shares tips to help with vape tongue. He says, "First thing, stop vaping or really cut down your vaping because that is really gonna help." If vaping causes vape tongue, stopping it can make the problem go away.
The second thing is to drink more water. Dr. Beggs says, "Second thing, it can be linked to dehydration so start to drink more water and make sure you are fully hydrated. Just to see if that helps." Being hydrated can help with many health problems, including vape tongue.
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The last tip is to keep your mouth clean. Dr. Beggs says, "Also clean your tongue, brush your teeth, floss, use a tongue scraper and see how much that helps." Good dental care is important. He says, "If this helps, cut down how much you are vaping because you don’t want to get vaper’s tongue back because you want to taste your food."
A Young Mom’s Sudden Loss
Leah Roberts was 21 years old. She lived in Cwmbran, Wales. Leah was very happy because she was going to have a baby girl. She already picked a name for her daughter—Leena-Rose. Leah was five months pregnant.
On August 1, Leah was at her grandmother’s house. She was not feeling well, so she went to take a nap. After a few hours, her family tried to wake her up, but they could not. Her grandfather and grandmother tried to help her. Sadly, Leah had passed away in her sleep.
No one knows yet why Leah died. Her family and friends are very sad. They shared loving messages about Leah. Her friend Becky Davies said, "She was the most selfless person you could ever meet in your life. By no means did she have an easy life but all she wanted was to love and be loved in return."
Becky said family was very important to Leah. Leah loved helping others, even if she had a bad day. Becky also shared, "She would walk into a room and no matter if she had had a bad day or not she would always ask if you were ok."
Leah’s family is waiting to find out what happened. They are raising money to help pay for her funeral. Leah’s story reminds us how precious life is.
Teenager’s Close Call With Vaping
Isabella Troncao is a 16-year-old girl. When she was 15, she started vaping marijuana. Later, a boy she liked gave her a nicotine vape. Isabella wanted to look cool, so she vaped a lot, even though her throat burned.
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After just one week, Isabella became very sick. She felt a heavy pain on the left side of her chest. She could not take a full breath. The pain got so bad that she could not get up or stay awake. Her mom and brother rushed her to St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada.
Doctors found Isabella had Lemierre’s Syndrome. This is a rare infection in the throat. If not treated, it can spread and become very dangerous. Isabella’s body was shutting down. She was in septic shock. Doctors said she was only a few hours from dying. They did surgery and took a lot of fluid out of her lung.
Doctors think vaping helped bacteria grow in Isabella’s throat. Isabella said, "Nobody should vape, it's a strain on your lungs and it's making lots of people sick."
Her mom added, "We all do stupid things but they're marketing these vapes with fruity flavours and fancy colours - they're worse than cigarettes."
Isabella feels lucky to be alive. She said, "I felt like it was a sign of God that I was meant to stay on this earth for a reason. It's crazy to think I would have missed it in that small time window. It definitely feels like I've been given a second chance at life."
World Leaders Speak Out About War
Recently, something happened in Ukraine. On May 24, Russia launched a big attack at night. Ukraine’s Air Force said 298 drones and 69 missiles were fired at the country. It was the most in one night since the war began. At least 12 people died, including three children. Many more people were hurt.
Donald Trump spoke about the war. He posted on Truth Social. Trump said, "I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump called out Putin for killing many people. He said, "He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever."
Trump also said, "I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!"
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But Trump did not only talk about Putin. He also talked about Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said, "Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop."
Trump thinks the war would not have started if he was President. He said, "This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not 'Trump’s,' I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred."
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special helper for Ukraine, posted a photo of the attacks. He wrote, “This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now.”
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy said America is being too quiet. He said, "The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. America's silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin."
Trump said he is “absolutely” thinking about putting sanctions on Russia. The world is watching this war very closely.
What We Can Learn
These stories show that vaping and war can have life-changing effects. Cindi’s story reminds us to be careful with vapes. Danny thought vaping was safe, but it was not. Experts like Dr. Beggs warn about side effects like vape tongue and the need to drink water and keep your mouth clean.
Leah’s story tells us to love our family and friends every day. Life can change so quickly. Isabella’s story teaches us that vaping can make young people very sick. Even teenagers can end up in the hospital.
The news from Ukraine shows why leaders must make wise choices. Many people are hurt by war. Leaders must work for peace.
We can all learn from these stories. Make good choices. Listen to experts. Care for your health and your loved ones. And always try to help others when you can.
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