A vape addict has finally kicked his five-year habit after his lung collapsed.

Kyan Soutar-Evans, 20, says he "regrets" ever trying electronic cigarettes when he was 15, after become fascinated by the "vape tricks" he had seen his friends doing."

The factory worker, from Matamata, New Zealand, initially asked older teenagers to buy vapes for him, and soon became hooked, as he said vaping relieved his stress.



At the height of his addiction, Kyan was vaping two 10,000 puff vapes a week and at age 17 he began to struggle to catch his breath after running.



Kyan developed a painful chesty cough, and last month was rushed to hospital after his lung collapsed.

Kyan had to have a tube inserted in to his chest for 11 days to reinflate his lung, and now has to get special approval from doctors if he ever wants to fly again.

He said: "I started vaping when I was 15, because I thought vape tricks looked cool - it was so stupid. "

"Then I realised how good the sensation of breathing it in felt, and how much it relieved my stress. "

"When I was 17, I struggled to catch my breath when I was sprinting, and eventually,"



"I developed a horrendous chesty cough that wouldn't go away. "

"A few weeks ago, I got a really sharp pain in my chest, I thought it was nothing at first, but it kept getting worse, so I went to the hospital. "

"They told me my lung had collapsed, and I had to have a tube inserted in me to reinflate it, it was awful. "

"Doctors didn't give me a clear answer on what caused my lung to collapse, they said it was how my body was built, but that vaping pushed it over the edge."

"I want to start vaping again, because it relieves my stress, but I am scared after what's happened to me, so I'm going to try not to."

"I'm getting a lot of regrets, I strongly recommend people to stop vaping."

As Kyan was underage when he first started vaping, he would get the older siblings of his peers to buy vapes for him, from the local corner shop.

During the first five months, Kyan could make a 1000 puff disposable vape last a week, and could then go another week, before buying another one.



However, his tolerance soon built up, and he began purchasing a 10,000 puff vape as soon as one ran out.

This would usually be around twice a week, and would cost him £20 per vape, or around £320 a month.

"The money really started to add up", he said."



For a long time, Kyan told himself that he wasn't addicted, and was only vaping because of the tricks, but deep down he knew he wouldn't be able to stop.



Then, when Kyan was 17, he started to use vaping as a means of "stress relief", and, as his tolerance built up, he noticed that when he was playing sports or sprinting, he would really struggle to catch his breath."



"I could really feel it in my lungs", he said."





However, despite the side effects, he didn't want to stop.



"It really relieved my stress, so I didn't want to stop. "

"The more I'd stress, the more I'd vape, and I was getting through two 10,000 puff vapes a week." "

When Kyan was 18, he moved to Australia, and stopped vaping for two months, due to the country's strict regulations.



However, his nicotine cravings got so bad that he started smoking cigarettes instead.

After 10 months, Kyan returned to New Zealand, and picked up vaping again, but instantly realised his side effects were getting much worse.



"I was struggling to breath, and I got this awful chesty cough that just wouldn't go away," he said."

In November 2025, Kyan went on a trip to Auckland with his dad, and on the way back, began to feel sharp pains in his chest.



"I thought it was going to be something that just passed, so I left it for an hour or two, until I got home and went to lie down on my bed," he said."

"By this point my chest was very, very sore, and I started getting shortness of breath. "

"I realised it might be something serious, so I went to the doctors, and they told me to go to the hospital."

When Kyan reached the hospital, he was told he was in an "emergency state" so wouldn't have to wait long, but it took him eight hours before he saw a doctor. "

"They told me that my lung had collapsed on the left side, and they dosed me up with fentanyl to relieve all the pain, which kind of worked," he said."

Kyan was put on oxygen overnight, and then, after a day, was told that doctors were going to insert a tube into his chest to reinflate his lung.



"When my lung collapsed inside my chest, all of the air that was in my lung went into my chest, and it was trapped there", he said."

"And since all the air was trapped outside my lung, it was stopping my lung from expanding, because the air was pushing it down and crushing it into a ball. "

"It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, but once they put the tube in, all the air that was in my chest escaped, allowing my lung to expand." "

Kyan was in hospital for 12 days in total, and had the tube inside his chest for 11 days.

His lung is now completely back to normal again, but Kyan said that the hole doctors made in his chest to put the tube in his still very sore.



Kyan is expected to make a full recovery, and said that the only side effects he now feels is drowsiness from the medication he is on.

However, if he ever wants to go on a flight in the future, he will have to first get approval from a doctor.

"The pressure of the air could actually crush my lung again, so I have to be really careful", he said."



"It's the same with diving, the pressure of the water could crush my lung and make me suffocate."