IS VAPING KILLING OUR KIDS?

After reports of young people dying or left seriously ill, we investigate just how dangerous e-cigarettes are

- FIONA FORD

18 IS THE AGE IT'S LEGAL TO BUY VAPES IN THE UK.

VAPE FEARS Urgent warning to parents over teenage vaping - and long-term risk to health

VAPE SCARE Parents warned of 'dangerous' new vaping trend after teen boy left 'debilitated' with fears it's sold in sports bottles

VAPE SCANDAL Scandal of 'candy' vapes putting YOUR kids at risk and what to do if your child is hooked

Walk past a shop window emblazoned with flavours like cookies and cream, pink lemonade and mango and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was an ice cream parlour rather than an e-cigarette store. And despite the fact vapes are intended for adult use only, there has been a surge in popularity among children, with Britain having one of the highest levels of teen vaping in Europe. Is it any wonder when social media is bursting with posts pointing out delicious new vape flavours? It's become such a problem that the government is preparing to clamp down on vaping, wanting companies to make the flavours less appealing to youngsters. So just how serious is vaping for teens? One mum tells Woman's Own how she nearly lost her son.

Every mother's worst nightmare'

Melanie Kelham, 46, lives in Nottingham with her son Ewan, 22.

The sight of my precious son, hooked up to countless machines and tubes as an artificial lung machine, known as ECMO, fought to keep him alive is something I'll never forget.

'Stay with me, Ewan,' I remember saying as I sat beside him at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester.

But of course Ewan couldn't reply. My usually chatty, kind, sweet 16-year-old son was lying in intensive care, fighting for his life after vaping had caused him to develop a respiratory condition so serious that his lungs were failing.