Wake-up call: Young vaper’s collapsed lung spurs quitting, health context includes autism-rate discussion

A 24-year-old Buffalo man who had vaped for almost a decade collapsed a lung while leaving a mall after finishing a shift, doctors said, illustrating a type of spontaneous pneumothorax that clinicians say they are seeing more often in young vapers. The patient has since sworn off vaping and is urging other young people to quit.

The onset came with a sudden, searing pain between the shoulder blades that intensified quickly, ultimately causing him to pass out in the mall. An ambulance rushed him to a hospital, where physicians diagnosed a spontaneous pneumothorax— a rare but reported complication among some young people who vape. He spent four nights in the hospital with a chest tube to reinflate the lung, a process that can require weeks to months of recovery.

Raymond Dehn, a Buffalo salesman, started vaping at age 15, long before he ever tried cigarettes. He said he had no cigarette addiction but found vaping easier to hide, a claim that resonates with some anti-youth vaping advocates who cite easy access and concealment as factors. In recent years he also used THC pens. In the days surrounding the collapse, he and his girlfriend had just finished work and were in their car when he took a vape hit and then began coughing. He recalls that soon after, the pain radiated and he passed out. When emergency responders arrived, he was taken to hospital and treated for the collapsed lung. A doctor at the hospital noted that the exact cause of the collapse could not be pinpointed, but she had seen three or four similar cases among young patients in the previous six months, with vaping cited as a common denominator.

After his discharge, Dehn quit vaping and turned to nicotine pouches and edibles for THC when needed. He describes ongoing worry about a recurrence and says he is prioritizing his health and advocating for others to quit vaping.

The health issue is part of a broader concern among clinicians that long-term vaping may carry unexpected risks for young people. While doctors cannot definitively attribute Dehn’s collapse to vaping alone, they say the clustering of similar cases in recent months has caught their attention and supports calls for prevention and cessation efforts targeting youth vaping.

Separately, a health-news analysis summarized in Daily Mail coverage focuses on autism rates in the United States compared with several European countries. The US is described as having one of the world’s highest reported rates of autism, with figures around 1 in 31 children, a stark contrast to about 1 in 100 in France and Germany, and roughly 7 in 1,000 in Sweden. The Daily Mail piece attributes much of the disparity to differences in how autism is defined and diagnosed, noting the United States uses the DSM-5 while many European countries follow the ICD-11 framework. It also points to broader screening practices in the US, which may lead to higher reported prevalence.

Experts cited in the coverage argue that the gap may reflect diagnostic criteria and health-system differences more than a simple higher incidence in the US. They also discuss other contributing factors cited by researchers, including rising obesity rates and older maternal ages, and note ongoing debate about potential links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism risk. Some researchers highlighted that the Tylenol connection remains controversial and not proven, and emphasized that policy implications should be considered carefully while awaiting more conclusive evidence. The piece also highlights how screening guidelines differ regionally, with the American Academy of Pediatrics endorsing universal autism screening at 18 and 24 months, while several European countries do not have universal screening.

As the conversation around autism evolves, experts warn against equating definitional shifts with changes in real-world incidence, reminding readers that diagnostic practices, access to healthcare, and public-health policies all shape reported rates. The health community continues to monitor both sets of developments—acute, potentially risk-increasing exposures like vaping among youth and the broader, ongoing assessment of developmental conditions such as autism—while researchers work to clarify causal links and improve prevention and care.

In the broader autism discussion, and as public-health researchers pursue clearer understanding, the health landscape remains complex and data-driven guidance remains essential for communities seeking to reassure families and protect youth from emerging safety concerns.