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Vape addict 'coughed up three pints of blood' and thought he was dying in intensive care

Dustin Fitzgerald, 45, claims that after switching from cigarettes to vapes he began 'coughing up straight blood' and ended up in intensive care with bacterial pneumonia

[Dustin Fitzgerald said he ended up in hospital after developing a vape addiction]

Dustin Fitzgerald said he ended up in hospital after developing a vape addiction(Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

A man addicted to vaping has warned others against using the electronic cigarettes, claiming he coughed up three pints of blood and was rushed to hospital where he thought he'd die.

Dustin Fitzgerald, from Clinton, Indiana, US, had been a lifelong smoker and got through a whopping 60 cigarettes a day.

The 45-year-old decided to take up vaping in an effort to ditch the unhealthy habit but soon became hooked on the flavoured vape pens, puffing on them for up to 12 hours a day for 10 months.

READ MORE: Young boy, 5, rushed to hospital after he spends entire school day vaping

It was then that Dustin began to experience a strong cough that turned into a horrifying medical episode, leaving him almost needing a blood transfusion.

[Vape victim Dustin Fitzgerald]

Dustin said he developed an aggressive cough after he started vaping (Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

Dustin, a saw filer, 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."

[Vape victim Dustin Fitzgerald.]

He claims that the addiction led to him coughing up three pints of blood(Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

Dustin, a recovering meth addict, had been trying to quit smoking for three years before he took up vaping.

He would smoke up to three packs a day and said that he found his nicotine habit "harder to quit than meth" but hoped that switching to vaping would help to save money as well as improve his health.

He began vaping in January 2022 and would purchase XL 3000-puff vape pens containing 8ml of fluid four times the legal limit in the UK finishing the whole thing in less than a week.

"I really did like it - I liked the taste - so would hit it more often than I used to smoke," Dustin said.

[Dustin Fitzgerald's vape]

Dustin was using XL 3000-puff vape pens (Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

By October 2022 the cough he'd developed started to keep him up at night so he decided to visit a doctor, who wrongly diagnosed him with bronchitis at first.

But later that same day he began coughing up blood, so he and his wife rushed to the ER.

"When I noticed I was coughing blood I was freaked out - but I still didn't make the connection it was from vaping", Dustin said.

"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."

[Vape victim Dustin Fitzgerald and his wife Amy. ]

He rushed to hospital with his wife, Amy(Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

Describing the terrifying ordeal, Dustin added: "I was coughing up a lot, and it was straight blood.

"When I got there, the doctors said I had lost three whole pints - they even worried I would need a blood transfusion."

Dustin was taken to intensive care where he was quarantined as doctors feared he could have hepatitis or tuberculosis.

He was placed on an oxygen supply with a mask around his head but his serious condition still didn't stop him from trying to sneak his vape in with him.

Dustin said: "I barely took a hit and then my chest felt like someone had put ten elephants on it.

"I felt like I was going to die. That moment scared me more than the blood."

[Vape victim Dustin Fitzgerald.]

Dustin said he was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia (Image: Courtesy Dustin Fitzgerald /SWNS)

He said that he was eventually diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia and doctors told him that the vapes had caused a build-up of moisture in his lungs.

Dustin spent three nights in hospital before returning home and hasn't touched a vape pen since.

Now, he's warning others to use them with caution.

He said: "If you decide to vape, use it wisely, don't abuse it like I did. If you don't smoke, it's pointless starting to vape - so just don't do it.

"And if you vape and you ever start having problems or you start coughing, stop. Put it down immediately and walk away from it, because it's not worth the risk.

"I can't go back in time but if I can stop others from going through what I did, that's all I care about."

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