A vape addict was left hospitalised after coughing up three pints of blood due to his long-running addiction.
Dustin Fitzgerald, 45, had been a life-long smoker and would smoke a staggering 60 cigarettes a day.
But in a bid to try and quit tobacco smoking, Dustin decided to switch to vapes as a cheaper and 'healthier' alternative.
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While his smoking of regular cigarettes became a thing of the past, Dustin quickly became addicted to flavoured vape pens.
As I'm sure many are aware of, vapes are a lot easier to smoke than regular cigarettes.
You don't need to head outside and light anything, you can just have a puff right there and then and you've got your fix.
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Well, Dustin quickly realised this, as he continuously puffed on them for 12 hours every day for around ten months.
This is when Dustin started to cough violently, with him recalling sometimes being unable to sleep sometimes because it got so bad he would 'wake every five minutes' to cough.
And things got drastically worse for Dustin as he coughed up three pints of blood into plastic bags.
He became that ill, the man from Clinton, Indiana, US, nearly had to have a blood transfusion.
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Dustin's excessive coughing continued when he was transported to hospital, and was coughing up blood for a total of eight hours.
After many tests, Dustin was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia caused by moisture trapped in his lungs by vaping frequently.
Now, Dustin is warning others of the dangers of vaping and has urged anyone who starts coughing as a result of it to put it down immediately.
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He said: "I started vaping to quit smoking when they raised cigarette prices.
"I thought it would solve problems financially and health-wise - but I started to abuse it.
"Because you can vape inside I would vape constantly for ten to 12 hours a day while at work.
"But once I started coughing, I just couldn't stop - not even while I was trying to sleep.
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Dustin continued: "When I noticed I was coughing blood I was freaked out - but I still didn't make the connection it was from vaping.
"I ended up on oxygen in the ER, and breathing felt like someone had put ten elephants on my chest - and that was when they told me what caused it.
"If you ever decide to vape, do it wisely - and if you start coughing a lot, put it right down and walk away.
"It's just not worth it."
Following many scary moments in hospital and points where he thought he was going to die, Dustin was released after three nights.
Since then, he has not touched a vape, and is on a mission to stop others from going through what he did.
Topics: Health
Callum Jones