Khaberni - Russian media reported that 3 teenagers were admitted to intensive care in the Rostov region after being diagnosed with the rare "popcorn lung" disease associated with consistent electronic cigarette smoking.
Medical reports indicated that the three teenagers arrived at the hospital in critical condition, with one requiring urgent lung surgery, while the second patient, aged 16, suffered from acute respiratory failure requiring the use of a mechanical ventilator, and the third patient was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia linked to vaping and known medically as EVAL, for whom surgery was also performed.
These cases are not the first of their kind in Russia. Similar cases have been recorded in several Russian regions, with the first emerging in Moscow in 2021, followed by cases in Tomsk last year, involving two minors.
Doctors warn of the serious health risks posed by electronic cigarettes, explaining that the liquids used contain harmful chemicals that cause severe damage to the airways, leading to acute lung inflammation, which ultimately results in permanent breathing issues.
"Popcorn lung" disease was first diagnosed in the United States in 2019, and there is currently no effective treatment. It could progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome, which has a mortality rate of 30-50%, increases the risk of asthma by 30%, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 75%, and can be detected by listening to the lungs with a stethoscope, where the lungs make a sound similar to popcorn popping.
