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Radio host quits smoking after terrifying shortness of breath: “Muntik na ako i-welcome ni Lord.”

DJ JhaiHo, a former vape user, said he nearly died two months ago after suffering shortness of breath while on-air and later being diagnosed with viral pneumonia.

“I remember na parang muntik na ako i-welcome ni Lord,” JhaiHo said in a June 2 Reel marking World No Tobacco Day (May 31) with the Department of Health and the Lung Center of the Philippines.

He noted that he found it “very, very cool” to try vaping before.

But on April 5, he experienced shortness of breath during his DZMM segment. Sweaty and uncomfortable, he pushed through with the broadcast before being rushed to the hospital for tests.

“Hindi ‘to tama,” he said.


According to ABS-CBN News, doctors ruled out diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, influenza A and B, and COVID-19. He was diagnosed instead with community-acquired viral pneumonia, a respiratory illness that can cause breathing difficulty, fever, and cough.

“I am a DJ. I am a radio anchor. Puhunan ko ito sa trabaho, so, sige, quit na ako,” he said.

He has since stopped smoking, citing both his health and his family: “Gusto ko magkaroon ng mas mahabang panahon kasama ang magulang ko.”

This year’s World No Tobacco Day carries the theme, “Unmasking the appeal – countering nicotine and tobacco addiction.”

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