Record number of hospital visits cite 'vaping as factor'

A RECORD number of people were treated in hospital last year by doctors who linked vaping to their health problems.

- BY MATTHEW DAVIS

Official figures showed there were 678 admissions last year where the habit was recorded as a contributory factor. In 134 instances doctors believed the alternative to tobacco smoking was the primary health issue — suggesting they were suffering breathing issues because of their vaping. In the remainder of the cases the person was suffering from another ailment, but when their medical history was taken vaping was logged as an exacerbating issue. Four years earlier, just 341 hospital admissions were linked to vaping, so cases almost doubled in that period.

In the past four years cases involving people under 20 rose from 10 to 63, while those aged in their 20s shot up from 12 to 102.