The mum of a 15-year-old feared her son would die from dehydration after his vaping habit left him unconscious for over a day.
Melony Sample was shocked when her son, Jake Melton, was hospitalised earlier this month (9 May) after his school became concerned that his vapes had been spiked as he 'looked like he was on drugs'.
However, the 39-year-old later discovered that Jake's vape had not been laced but his excessive e-cigarette use had 'literally dehydrated' him and made his urine 'blackened', leaving Jake unconscious in hospital for 30 hours.
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The mum-of-three was unaware her son was smoking the equivalent of five cigarettes a day and he had begun using menthol nicotine pods, which have been linked to higher numbers of toxic microparticles.
The mum recalled that Jake had complained of feeling sick one morning and after visiting the school nurse, two vapes were found in his rucksack, which Jake was keeping safe for a friend.
Police were then called to check the vape pens for drugs being 'dead set' they had been laced, but tests proved Melony was right that it was not 'drugs' and was in fact the extreme effects of excessive vaping.
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"Jake went to school and they immediately called me and said he looked like he was on drugs," the mum revealed. "They were asking what he had taken and of course, he hadn't taken anything."
She added: "They had a cop and a superintendent in the office and they were searching Jake's bag and they found two vapes. They sent them off to be tested for drugs because they were dead set that he was slipped something through a vape.
"The officer that was in there had been a cop for 15 years and he said in his 15 years he had never seen anyone look like that unless they were drunk or on drugs.
"I looked at the cop and said 'are you sure he's not dehydrated' and he said, 'it's not possible. This is drugs'."
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Jake was later rushed to hospital and after testing, she discovered her son had not been spiked but was severely dehydrated from excessive smoking and his urine was 'blackened'.
Melony said: "It was a terrible experience. I had to tell the hospital what the school thought.
"We get down to the ER and it turns out to be just from vaping. They had him tested for everything but all he had was the vape.
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"I was awake for over 30 hours and he was asleep for that long. He wouldn't talk. When he would wake up he'd curl up into a ball and shiver and jerk.
"He's still really confused. We're home but he's still in and out. He doesn't remember any of it. It was just like he was asleep pretty much. I think he thinks I'm just being mean now."
Melony, who lives in Southside, Arkansas, US, added: "[The vaping] literally dehydrated him so bad that he ended up in the hospital. His urine was blackened.
"I think he was vaping a lot but he wasn't supposed to be doing it like that. I found that out because he pulled out the vape while we were out. I now know he was vaping at school and wasn't supposed to be. I thought it was under control."
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She continued: "Especially if you're working, vaping will amp you up and make you feel like you can do more than you can and you'll over push yourself and dehydrate quicker.
"Then instead of taking a drink, they'll hit their nicotine. Instead of eating, they'll hit their vape. Then they lose control. They don't know what they're doing."
Jake explained that he first started vaping two or three years ago after seeing students at his school smoking in the bathroom and wanted to 'fit in', however, it quickly became an 'addiction' and he moved from flavoured nicotine to menthol.
"I just wanted to fit in but over the course of a couple months it became an addiction," he said.
The teen confessed he was using 'all kinds of vapes, Juuls, elf bars, jucie heads, vuse, and more' before he 'finally switched from flavoured nicotine, to menthol'.
"I use a five per cent menthol nicotine pod which is the equivalent to around 20 cigarettes," he added. "I was smoking around one pod every four days. Every morning it felt like I had to hit it just to fully be awake."
He then started experiencing 'breathing problems' and 'not being as active as normal'.
The teen continued: "I knew it was messing up my mental health, and caused a lot of illness."
He recalled that when he woke up in the hospital, 'everything in [his] body was hurting' and he felt 'dizzy and nauseous'.
"I have little memory of waking up after being rushed to the ER. I felt funny for the past week or two before. I felt like I was living a dream," Jake added.
"Being in hospital could've been scary for some, but I'd continue doing it knowing the risks and the side effects. It doesn't bother me."
Melony has since revealed she wants e-cigarettes 'all to be banned' and hopes to spread awareness of her son's terrifying experience to encourage parents to stop their children using the products.
"I've heard a lot of these stories from people since I've shared mine. It's just really sad," she said. "If you think you're doing them a favour by buying them vapes, you're not. They're gonna smoke everybody else's either way so they are going to be exposed to the possibility of being laced. It's a waste of time. You're just adding to it by helping or allowing it."
She carried on: "I would like them all to be banned. You're literally smoking a battery. I was just looking up a way to have them banned in America and seeing how many signatures you'd have to have to get it on a ballot."
Rhiannon Ingle