At least five teenagers and young adults in the Netherlands have almost died after excessive vaping and four were kept in an artificial coma for a longer period, RTL Nieuws said on Thursday.

The five did not know each other and all used different types of flavoured vaping liquid which are now illegal in the Netherlands, the broadcaster said.

At least 16 hospitals have also reported dealing with multiple patients with serious lung problems as a result of vaping, including collapsed lungs and COPD. At least eight of them witnessed youngsters having asthma attacks as a result of their habit.

Experts told RTL that the situation is “extremely worrying” and did not rule out deaths in the future.

Esther Croes, a tobacco expert at the Trimbos addiction clinic, said youngsters should not be developing these sort of illnesses. RTL’s findings, she said, are relevant for all parents and children as well as the medical world. “We should now be thinking that the vape is a possible cause in a more focused way,” she said.

Junior health minister Vincent Karremans said in March he is looking into the options for increasing the legal age to buy cigarettes and vapes from 18 to 21.

Karremans is also looking at making it a criminal offence to offer vapes with flavoured liquids for sale and increasing the fines for those caught breaking the law, he said at he launch of an action plan to tackle smoking and vaping among youngsters.

The Dutch health ministry is also urging Brussels to impose “comprehensive restrictions on flavours, maximum nicotine levels and plain packaging” on e-cigarettes and other nicotine products.

Research

Trimbos research indicates shows that one in five young people under the age of 25 uses a vape, and 70% of them also smoke tobacco cigarettes. The age limit of 18 for using vapes is also widely flouted, and internet sales have flourished.

At least 14 children were hospitalised in 2024 as a result of using vapes, and paediatricians suspect many more children are experiencing health problems.

Research has also shown that some vapes popular with teenagers are packed with toxic metals, cancer-causing chemicals, and a much higher level of nicotine than legally allowed.