Vaping lands Florida teen in the hospital, parents say

close

Video

Does vaping increase the risk of pneumonia from COVID-19?

Dr. Marc Siegel answers viewers' coronavirus questions on 'Fox & Friends.'

Vaping is allegedly behind a Florida teen’s recent hospitalization, according to a local report. 

Anna Chinnis, 16, has been hospitalized at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville for nine days after she experienced trouble breathing possibly linked to her reported vaping habit. 

“Her blood oxygen levels were really low when we got her to the ER,” the teen’s father told local news station News4Jax. 

“She started rapidly declining she went to BIPAP, which is noninvasive ventilation, she did that for about a day,” Anna’s mother, Beverly, added. 

CALIFORNIA WOMAN DIES OF VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURY, OFFICIALS SAY

Beverly said her daughter was recently diagnosed with reactive airway disease, a condition similar to asthma. She told the news outlet she had found her daughter's vaping accessories about two years ago and had encouraged her to stay away from it.

Anna's hospitalization comes after numerous reports of vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) cases across the nation made headlines last year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying in December that further laboratory tests confirmed that THC-containing e-cigarettes or vaping products were linked to the majority of the cases and played and a “major role” in the outbreak of vaping lung injuries and deaths.

E-CIGARETTE USE INCREASES RISK OF CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE, STUDY CLAIMS

More specifically, illegal THC-containing vaping products – primarily those that also contained the additive vitamin E acetate – were likely to blame for the illnesses, the CDC said at the time.

However, Anna has not yet been diagnosed with EVALI, per the news station. 

“She is getting better. It’s a slow process,” her mother told the news outlet.