Oregon survivor of vaping-related illness speaks

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) – A former smoker turned to vaping because he thought it was safer than smoking. But he says it nearly killed him.

Justin Wilson was recently released from the hospital after he passed out while having dinner with his friends.

“There’s no way smoke will ever touch my lungs again,” Justin said.

The 25-year-old also works in a vape shop, where he had been encouraging smokers to quit and cross over.

“I would be like, ‘Switch over, it’s better for you!’ But here we are.”

Justin’s family says doctors said he had something called “vaping toxicity.”

He says the coils in his vaping device were not heating the chemicals quickly enough, so he was inhaling the liquids straight into his lungs.

It’s not clear whether this so-called “vaping toxicity” is at all related to the hundreds of vaping illnesses popping up around the country.

But to Justin and his family, the message is clear: vaping nearly killed him.

“The first hospital we went to they asked me if I wanted a chaplain that’s when my heart sank,” said Jake Wilson, Justin’s father. “I don’t think I believe it is safer… I did.”

Justin is at home recovering, and he says he feels good, but he says his doctors don’t know whether he’ll make a full recovery.

Read more: https://bit.ly/2m53BBv

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