A 17-year-old Beresfield boy who had a massive asthma attack and almost died has vowed to give up vaping.
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Brayden Field, a year 11 student at Francis Greenway High School at Woodberry, spent two days in intensive care at Calvary Mater Newcastle this week.
He was stabilised and moved to a general ward before being released on Friday.
Brayden told the Newcastle Herald "I'm just very happy I had doctors to help me".
"It's a good wake-up call not to touch a vape ever again."
Brayden's dad Nick Field said his son had been asthmatic since he was a toddler.
He had never previously been hospitalised for the condition, but had stopped taking his preventer medication.
Brayden had felt the effects of a virus on the morning of his asthma attack. Doctors told him vaping would have weakened his respiratory system.
"He didn't have the lung strength and health to fight the virus," Mr Field said.
"If he hadn't gone to hospital, he would most certainly be dead.
"Once the doctor got him stabilised, he said Brayden deadset needs to be the advocate for this and tell his mates and everybody that vaping can kill you."
NSW Health data showed 21 people died from asthma in the Hunter New England district from 2018 to 2022.
Brayden says his message to people is "don't vape or you'll end up like me".
He and his dad went camping last weekend and helped a cousin move house on Monday.
Brayden seemed OK then, but woke up sick the following morning.
"He sent me a message at 8am, saying 'I feel terrible, I feel like death'," Mr Field said.
He felt like he was "breathing through a straw".
"It started as shortness of breath and I didn't think anything of it. I kept using my asthma puffer [the reliever inhaler known as Ventolin, which is different to a preventer inhaler]," Brayden said.
"Then it got pretty serious. I didn't realise I was having a full-blown asthma attack because I've never really had one."
National Asthma Council Australia director and respiratory physician, Professor Peter Wark, said "the most likely reason he had a severe and life-threatening episode of asthma was that he wasn't using his preventer".
"Everybody with asthma over the age of six who has symptoms more than once or twice a month should be using a regular preventer," Professor Wark said.
"That is the single most important thing that will reduce someone's risk of dying from asthma."
Professor Wark said the common cold was "often a trigger" for asthma.
He added that vaping "can cause severe reactions in types of lung disease".
"While it is rare, it can be devastating. We clearly do not recommend that people vape," he said.
"A third of young people who do vape get symptoms of chest tightness and cough."
Brayden said he started vaping to feel "cool".
"It was like a bandwagon, just like getting a mullet. Also it was advertising on social media."
Mr Field said a doctor in the emergency department was passionate about the need to raise awareness about the dangers of vapes.
On Tuesday, Mr Field posted a heartfelt message to his friends on Facebook about his son's condition, while warning about the dangers of vaping.
"Love you mate and we all have our fingers crossed for you," he said in the post, alongside a photo of his son receiving oxygen.
Mr Field said a friend who works in intensive care at John Hunter Hospital "asked if I could make the post public, so she could share it and her grandkids could see it".
The post was shared thousands of times, with many people sending love and support to the family.
Federal research released this month said about 1 per cent of 14 to 17-year-olds reported vaping in 2018, but that figure had soared to 14.5 per cent this year.
The federal government announced last month it would ban the importation of all non-prescription e-cigarettes.
A NSW Health evidence summary states that "vaping is not safe" and a government fact sheet says vapes can produce up to 300 chemicals.
"Vaping can increase the risk of lung disease, lung infections and heart disease, including worsening obstructive lung diseases and increasing the odds of being diagnosed with asthma," the summary said.
"Nicotine in vapes can weaken the immune system."
The summary added that vaping can "negatively impact your respiratory function" and "expose the people around you to toxic chemicals".
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