Victor teen to share vaping nightmare

Giovanni Marino will visit the main campus to raise awareness about the dangers of e-cigarettes.

A Victor teenager who nearly lost his life from vaping-related illnesses will visit Finger Lakes Community College on Thursday, Nov. 21, to share his experiences as part of the Great American Smokeout.

Giovanni Marino, 19, will give a free public talk from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 2775 on the second floor of the main campus at 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. The event is part of FLCC’s efforts to promote the Great American Smokeout, a national movement by the American Cancer Society to encourage smoking cessation.

Earlier this fall, Giovanni spent over a week at Thompson Hospital, including several days in the intensive care unit. Months of vaping that began recreationally shortly after he began his freshman year at the University of West Virginia had severely damaged his lungs.

He said doctors told him he developed pneumonia as well as a syndrome that made his lungs look like “shattered glass.”

“Essentially, it was a culmination of everything – the doctors think my lungs were weakened by the nicotine and they also think there was a potential of me having inhaled cyanide,” he said.

The cyanide and other noxious chemicals could have been contained in the vape cartridges – also called “carts” – that Giovanni was buying illegally from the black market.  

This event has been organized to coincide with the Great American Smokeout, a national cessation movement by the American Cancer Society. It embodies FLCC’s value of vitality as a means to bring awareness to a serious public health threat.

Giovanni said he never touched a vape or cigarette while a student at the private high school, Allendale-Columbia. He started experimenting with what are known as “box mods” shortly after beginning his freshman year at college. Box mods allow users to blow “big smoke rings,” said Giovanni, “and I thought that was a cool trick.”

Over time, he became addicted to nicotine, and he was unaware that he was taking in more than an entire cigarette’s worth – sometimes in just one inhale. He also started using cannabis oil and developed “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome,” a condition that leads to repeated and severe bouts of vomiting. Giovanni became severely dehydrated while on a family trip this past September, leading to a visit to the emergency room. He was discharged after receiving intravenous fluids, but shortly after returning home, his condition deteriorated.

“Once I got back home, my lungs bloomed and that’s when it really got bad,” he said. “A normal person has 12 to 20 breaths per minute and I was at 40 to 50. I was huffing and puffing, and coughing up blood.”

Giovanni’s stepmother found him in bed and rushed him back to the hospital, where he would spend the next eight days.  

Before the first visit to the ER, Giovanni said his parents knew nothing of his vaping. He said it was easy to keep the small devices out view. And, the black market cartridges were easy to buy, both at college and home, said Giovanni.

“There are a lot of people that are probably in the same situation I was in,” he said. “They are struggling with not only nicotine addiction, but also getting these carts from sources that are not reliable or safe. I didn’t think it would happen to me. I saw the commercials, and I thought ‘man that sucks,’ but that’s not going to happen to me. I was naïve.”

The talk and other Great American Smokeout activities are being coordinated by FLCC’s Wellness is Now Committee. For information, contact committee Co-Chair Patricia Zimmer at Patricia.Zimmer@flcc.edu or (585) 785-1638.