The figures show that there were 15 cases where children aged nine or younger needed to be admitted in the year through April.
Boys and girls of primary school age get so sick from vaping they end up in hospital, a Sky News investigation can reveal.
Figures from England’s NHS show there were 15 cases where children aged nine and under needed to be admitted in the year to April, up from 12 last year and two the year before.
Professor Andy Bush, a pediatric pulmonologist at Royal Brompton Hospital in west London, says he is “absolutely appalled” by the statistics.
“Young children are exposed to substances of addiction, substances that are toxic and some of the toxicity is unknown,” he said.
“It’s a jungle…we just don’t know what’s in most of these things.
“If a teenager starts smoking cigarettes, probably the worst thing that’s going to happen to them is that they’re going to get sick and vomit behind the bike shed.
“Acute use of e-cigarettes can land you in the hospital, it can land you in intensive care, things like lung bleeding, lung collapse and air leak, lungs filling up with fat.”
For many smokers, vape has been the key to quitting smoking, which is the leading preventable cause of death.
Rosey Christoffersen died after both her lungs collapsed
But Rachel Howe is convinced it was what killed her 18-year-old daughter, Rosey Christoffersen, in February 2015, six months after she started vaping heavily.
“He was supposed to call me at 5:30 pm, but he didn’t,” he said.
“I called her phone and one of the ambulance staff answered and said, we’re with her daughter, we’re working on her. She left work and she collapsed.”
Rosey had suffered a heart attack, but what had caused it was the sudden collapse of both lungs: a bilateral pneumothorax.
His brain was deprived of oxygen and two days later it was clear that he would not survive.
Rachel Howe is convinced that vaping killed her daughter
Rachel, from the Wirral, was told Rosey’s lungs were “just a mass of holes and blisters called vesicles.”
“To be honest, there was a lot of stunned silence in the hospital,” she said.
Rosey had gone to the doctor several times with chest pain in the months before her death, but as a fit and active footballer, it was attributed to a pulled muscle.
“I was finding bottles and bottles of the empty liquid,” Rachel said.
“She had it constantly in her mouth. And I was like, you know, you wouldn’t smoke that much…why are you vaping so much?”
No autopsy was carried out, no official link established, but Rachel says doctors told her vaping was “probably” to blame.
Professor Andy Bush
Professor Bush goes further, adding that he has never seen a double collapsed lung in a young and fit person.
“I think the mother is right,” he said.
“I can’t think of any other explanation that covers the facts.”
It is illegal to sell vaporizers to anyone under the age of 18 and the boxes are clearly labelled.
But it’s easy to see why certain products would appeal to children.
They’re brightly coloured, fruity or sweet, and cost around £5 each for a cheap, disposable vape.
Some look like makeup, others like pens.
Rosey had been to the doctor several times with chest pain, but as an active footballer it was attributed to a pulled muscle.
The government recently announced that it would clamp down on rogue companies that illegally target teens with advertising on platforms like TikTok.
“Illicit vape enforcement squads” are also being set up at a cost of £3m to uncover merchants selling to youngsters.
In total, 40 young people aged 19 and under were admitted to the hospital last year for vaping.
What are the dangers of vaping?
But John Dunne of the UK Vaping Industry Association says “statistics wouldn’t exist if kids didn’t get their hands on vapes.”
“Every year, according to the NHS, some 76,000 people die from smoking, while there has not been an officially confirmed report of a death from vaping, although the category has been available in the UK for the last 15 years,” he said.
“The fundamental problem that urgently needs to be addressed is the appalling level of compliance with vaping age regulations across the UK.
“While we see the recent measures announced by the government as a step in the right direction to address youth vaping…much more needs to be done to support Trading Standards in their efforts to tackle dishonest traders and cut off the source of supply of vaping to minors.”
He wants fines on the spot of £10,000 introduced for those caught selling to young people.
Rachel Howe and Rosey Christoffersen
Rosey was due to start a new job as a trainee hairdresser a couple of days after collapsing.
Instead, she was kept alive that day so her organs could be donated, helping eight other people.
Rachel wants more research on the impact of vaping on young people.
He has made it a mission to tell his daughter’s story to any young man he sees vaping, or walks into the store where he works asking for them.
The impact on young lungs is just emerging, but she knows the stakes are too high to ignore the risks.