What Is Popcorn Lung And Is It Real?
There has been no case of Popcorn Lung linked to vaping, but the risk is there.
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Before we explain what sounds like a disturbing snack, let us just remind everyone that smoking and vaping are generally bad for you because inhaling something other than oxygen into your lungs is, for the most part, a bad idea.
Our lungs are designed to process oxygen that is distributed through our blood which circulates all over our body. So, what happens when our lungs get damaged or stops working properly?
We will get less oxygen supply in our blood and body which then leads to a bunch of other health complications. In fact, there’s a whole list of lung diseases a person can get from various causes.
But in this article, we’re going to talk about a specific lung condition and how vaping could exacerbate it.
It’s called bronchiolitis obliterans, as in it will obliterate your lungs
The nickname for this disease, Popcorn Lung, came about from a case in the early 2000s where workers in a microwave popcorn factory developed a lung condition called bronchiolitis obliterans after being exposed to diacetyl, a buttery-flavoured chemical used in popcorn flavouring.
So, how does vaping cause Popcorn Lung?
The diacetyl, which is present in many vaping e-liquids with a creamy flavour profile – including popcorn, butter, coffee, and honey flavours – is what causes scarring on your bronchioles.
Bronchioles are the smallest airways in your lungs that deliver air to these little sacs called alveoli, which extract carbon dioxide and release it when you exhale while oxygen stays and gets circulated through your body.
Major popcorn factories have since stopped including diacetyl in their products to prevent their workers from getting the condition. Unfortunately, vaping is still widely unregulated and many manufacturers include it in their e-liquids.
What happens when you get Popcorn Lung?
Essentially, when your bronchioles are inflammed and then scarred, the constriction makes it hard for air to move through your lungs, and this causes it to absorb less oxygen.
The symptoms of Popcorn Lung listed by the American Lung Association include: persistent dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and tightness in the chest.
They will normally develop over a few weeks or months, and can flare up while exercising or doing manual labour. Depending on the exposure, other parts of the body could experience irritation like getting a skin rash on top of the respiratory problems.
Will you definitely get Popcorn Lung from vaping?
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of Popcorn Lung linked to vaping. But, that doesn’t mean the risk is not there. In 2019, researchers at Harvard found that 39 of 51 e-cigarette brands contained diacetyl.
Although diacetyl has been banned from use in e-cigarettes and e-liquids in the UK, EU, and China, this doesn’t mean there are no e-liquid manufacturers who still use it in their products. As we mentioned before, the sale of e-liquids is still an unregulated business in most parts of the world.
If diacetyl caused a major health incident in those factory workers back in 2000, inhaling the substance today could pose a risk of giving the same effect. The workers may have inhaled significantly more by being in a factory that was filled with it but now that we know diacetyl is proven to be harmful to our lungs, why would we purposely inhale it ourselves, right?
It’s like when you know a can of bug spray is poison and can definitely kill you, but you spray small amounts directly into your mouth and inhale it anyway.
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