The Vaping Deaths That Weren’t Vaping Deaths

The Daily Mirror has extensively covered the death of former Hollyoaks and Celebrity Love Island star Paul Danan. Shortly after the actor passed, the Caroline Waterston-edited paper confidently revealed he’d died from a vaping habit.

Other papers followed suit. The Daily Record and The Daily Beast claimed that Danan died due to “obsessive e-cig use” that had pushed him “over the edge”. The Daily Mail went one further, warning its readers about the “EXTREME” dangers of vaping, despite also saying, “the cause of his death is yet to be clarified”.

But, when the autopsy results came in, there were no nicotine poisonings or popcorn lung to be seen. Instead, it seems that Danan had died from a “cocktail” of drugs, including heroin and cocaine.

The Mirror continues to ghoulishly obsess over the grisly details of Danan’s death. On the day of the inquest, I counted at least six separate stories posted on the Mirror website in just one day.

Exploiting the tragic death of someone is gross. However, it’s not the first time a news outlet or person has tried to frame vaping for a death.

Let’s take a look at a few other “vaping deaths” that don’t pass scrutiny.

#1. EVALI (2019)

We must start with the most egregious example of them all. The EVALI conspiracy is notable for its unique scale and the damage it did to the perception of vaping.

In April 2019, Illinois and Wisconsin reported cases of deaths from vaping. By that summer, the bodies were stacking up. News organisations went into overdrive. For people who already had an irrational dislike of vapes, these deaths were manna from heaven. Finally, their prophecy would be made manifest, and we’d all see how smart they were.

Of course, none of that turned out to be true. EVALI was caused by illegal THC vapes that contain Vitamin E Acetate, an ingredient that is not found in nicotine vapes.

#2. Rosey Christoffersen

ITV and some other news outlets have recently unearthed an alleged vaping death from 2015. Rosey Christoffersen died from a collapsed lung and cardiac arrest. However, her mother is convinced she died from vaping because she took up the habit seven months before her death.

There was no post-mortem or any official statement to suggest that vaping was at fault for Christoffersen’s death. Health experts suggest that bilateral pneumothorax was the cause of death, an illness which refers to the presence of air in the pleural spaces on both sides of the chest that can lead to the collapse of both lungs.

There are several potential causes of bilateral pneumothorax, such as smoking, trauma from a fall or injury, and underlying lung conditions. The fact that Christoffersen was a smoker before she started vaping is another factor to consider.

#3. Solomon

Solomon vaped on and off for a year. In 2023, he died from, according to his mother Charlene, “popcorn lungs and congestive heart failure.” Again — and you’ll notice the pattern — there was no post-mortem. However, that didn’t stop WRAL News from posting this information as if it were straight facts to promote their documentary, Gen V: Teen Vaping in North Carolina.

#4. Terry Miller

The Daily Mail has been one of the most consistent peddlers of lies and misinformation about vaping. In 2019, they reported that Terry Miller, a factory worker from Gateshead, had died from vaping. He’d switched from a 40-odd-year smoking habit to vaping before he died 8 months later from lipoid pneumonia.

Miller was diagnosed with fibrosis, a condition that is caused by infections, medication, autoimmune diseases, and other environmental and occupational risks, such as exposure to asbestos.

Final thoughts

Any premature death is a tragedy. These devastating events are a stark reminder of the fragility and randomness that govern our lives. It’s totally normal and natural for grieving family and friends to find someone or something to blame.

Newspapers and anti-vaping health bodies are fixated on finding a death from vaping. This supply and demand problem has caused them to jump the gun several times. Sadly, reckless and irresponsible reporting like this is more than just an affront to the truth.

Recent data suggests around 80% of current smokers believe that vaping is more lethal than smoking, which greatly reduces the likelihood of switching to a less harmful alternative like vapes. Newspaper misinformation is costing lives, and it’s high time that we all stand up and say it needs to stop.