Teenager suffers collapsed lung after vaping left him unable to breathe and coughing up blood

  • ITV Granada Reports journalist Anna Youssef spoke to Nathan Chesworth as he warned others of the risks of vaping

A teenager who suffered two collapsed lungs after becoming addicted to vaping is speaking out as a warning to others.

Nathan Chesworth, now 16, would often smoke several 600-puff vapes a week, often buying the flavoured vapes after school while wearing his uniform.

He says the e-cigarettes were easy to get hold of, despite the legal age for using them being 18.

The teen, studying for his GCSEs, would frequently ask to leave class to use the toilet so he could vape during lessons.

Nathan said: "I could go into more or less any corner shop and get one. I would get served in my school uniform.

"I didn't get asked for ID or anything. I would just give them the money and they were like 'here you go'."

Nathan was rushed to hospital after he began coughing up blood.

Nathan, from Wigan, had seen his GP on multiple occasions and been prescribed antibiotics for a chest infection, and had not told anyone about the amount of vapes he was using.

But when he began coughing up blood, became lethargic, and was losing weight, he was rushed to hospital where it was discovered he had a collapsed lung.

Nathan bought the vapes with money from his paper round, with his parents only discovering how heavily addicted he was when his other lung collapsed just two months later.

Nathan hopes by sharing his story he can warn others about how dangerous and easily accessible vapes really are.

Nathan Chesworth wants to warn other young people about the risks of vaping Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Nathan said: "Now I think, what went through my head to make me start doing it? To be such an idiot and start vaping and damage myself this much.

"You don't think of it when you start. I just felt like I had dug a hole I could never get out of."

Nathan went on to pass his GCSEs and is now at college. He says he has learnt the hard way not to take his health for granted.

None of Nathan’s family smoke or vape and his mother Rebecca Chesworth thinks there needs to be more awareness around underage vaping and the potential health risks.

Rebecca said: "I think we just don't know the long term effects of vaping and I think in years to come there will be so much more that will come out about vaping that we never knew.

"I think shopkeepers and advertising companies need to take some responsibility... obviously (they) need to make money but they are more concerned with making money than people's health so they are putting profits before that young person’s health.

"There needs to be greater fines for shops that are selling them to people underage."

There were 4,563 reports of underage vape sales in 2023 Credit: ITV Granada

According to The 2024 Underage Vape Sales Report - based on FOI data analysed by Vape Club - in 2023 there were:

  • 4,563 reports of underage vape sales across the UK - the equivalent of one every two hours.

  • 776 businesses were caught selling vapes to children

  • 60% of those avoided fines

  • When a fine was issued - the average was £400 -more than six times lower than the current maximum penalty of £2,500.

With many councils suffering budget cuts over recent years experts say Trading Standards teams are already over stretched and unable to cope with the scale of the problem.

The UK Vaping Industry Organisation is one of many bodies calling for more Government funding for Trading Standards to tackle the widespread issue of underage vape sales and illegal vapes.

Abdul Bari, Chief Trading Standards Officer for Bolton Trading Standards Service said: "A lot of it comes down to a lack of resources within local governments nationally because there has been a lack of officers to deal with things.

"So in terms of fines - a lot of work goes into that by creating the prosecution report and that can lead to a very small fine... which can be easily absorbed by a business.. because they are making repeated underage sales."

Abdul Bari, , Chief Trading Standards Officer, Bolton Trading Standards Service Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Bolton Trading Standards said despite the demands on its resources it was determined to tackle the issue of underage sales and illegal vapes head on.

The team has decided the most effective and efficient way to deal with businesses who repeatedly break the law is to close them down.

Abdul Bari said: "For me a closure order has a bigger impact on the trader because effectively a trader is being forced to close their business premises from three months to half a year and that hits them where it hurts them the most in the pocket - that’s better than a fine."

Bolton Trading Standards have seized illegal vapes with a street value of half a million pounds in the past three months alone Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Nearly a quarter of all illegal vapes seized in the UK were found in Greater Manchester in 2023 alone.

Despite being an illegal vaping hotspot, Bolton currently only has two Trading Standards officers tasked with removing illegal vapes off the market.

Like councils across the region, they know they are facing an uphill battle.

It says it will continue to do what it can as long as there are sellers who put profits ahead of people's safety.

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