While vaping may seem like a safer alternative to smoking for many, the ‘permanent’ impacts of vaping can be damaging to the body.
Donal O’Shea, Professor of Chemistry at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, warns of the serious and irreversible condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung.” It damages the tiny airways in the lungs, leading to persistent coughing, wheezing, fatigue and breathlessness.
The term “popcorn lung” originated in the early 2000s. Several workers at a microwave popcorn factory started developed lung issues from inhaling diacetyl.
“Similarly to the popcorn factory, flavoured vapes contain the chemical diacetyl – which, when aerosolised, becomes a ‘toxic inhalant’,” O’Shea explained in an article for The Conversation.
The warning of the dangers of vaping comes after a 17-year-old was recently diagnosed with the condition after three years of using e-cigarette.
According to O’Shea, the only way to avoid this illness is prevention.
“There’s no cure for popcorn lung. Once the lungs are damaged, treatment is limited to managing symptoms. This can include bronchodilators, steroids, and in extreme cases, lung transplantation. For this reason, prevention – not treatment – is the best and only defence,” he explained.
Diacetyl is not the only compound in e-cigarettes that can cause “popcorn lung.” Other chemicals, including volatile carbonyls such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, are also inhaled through vaping.
“Experts have estimated there being ‘over 180 different flavouring agents used in e-cigarette products today’ which, ‘when heated’ break down into ‘new compounds’ that haven’t all been ‘tested for inhalation safety’,” O’Shea explains.
Since the users of e-cigarettes inhale many chemicals, it’s hard to say if one alone—like diacetyl—causes “popcorn lung.”
Even if it doesn’t, being exposed to so many chemicals is harmful and can damage the lungs.
Diacetyl is banned in vapes across the EU and UK, but still legal in other countries, including the US.
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