What is popcorn lung? What symptoms of popcorn lung are dangerous? Does vaping cause popcorn lung? These are just a few of the questions that arise on the – recently hot – topic. We will answer all of them, using the latest research.
What is popcorn lung?
Bronchiolitis obliterans, also called popcorn lung, is a respiratory condition that affects the bronchioles of lungs. The bronchioles are the smallest airways in your lungs. If you have this condition, these airways become inflamed, damaged and then scarred because of inhaling toxic substances or from infections. Other terms for this condition include obliterative bronchiolitis or constrictive bronchiolitis.
Why is bronchiolitis obliterans called popcorn lung?
The name probably comes from when researchers first identified the disease among workers in a microwave popcorn factory. The workers had breathed in diacetyl, a flavoring chemical used to make the popcorn taste buttery. There were also cases of the disease found in workers at a coffee roasting plant.
Does vaping cause popcorn lung?
One common myth is that vaping causes ‘popcorn lung’. This myth came about because some flavourings, often used to provide a buttery flavour, contain a chemical called diacetyl which when consumed at high doses can cause lung damage.
We have all read the articles foreseeing painful death to all vapers due to the horrible diacetyl present in e-liquids giving everybody “popcorn lung”. During the research carried out by the National Institute of Health the “deadly” diacetyl was found to be present in amounts above the laboratory limit of detection in 39 of 51 e-liquids tested by National Institute of Health. The diacetyl content in tested e-liquids was ranging from the detection limit, up to 239 µg/e-cigarette.
If you read the above paragraph you could feel unsafe, some people would start worrying, some would panic. Unless you will do some more research on your own. Or simply keep reading.
Looking through the National Institute of Health’s website you may find other research papers and findings, such as this gem titled “Safe exposure level of diacetyl” stating that: “Fourteen commercial cigarette brands and one reference cigarette released 301–433 μg of diacetyl per cigarette”.
Strange, why would you warn people about the dangers of diacetyl in e-cigarettes if regular cigarettes contain about 30- 40% more of the “deadly” diacetyl? It must be NIH worrying about our health and the health of the young children being drawn to e-cigarettes “by the colorful packaging and various attractive flavors”.
Well, we kept on reading NIH’s website and found interesting research from 2014 titled “Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione exposures associated with cigarette smoking: implications for risk assessment of food and flavoring workers.“
The last sentences are what made me write this article. The summary of the research states:
This suggests that previous claims of a significant exposure-response relationship between diacetyl inhalation and respiratory disease in food/flavoring workers were confounded, because none of the investigations considered or quantified the non-occupational diacetyl exposure from cigarette smoke, yet all of the cohorts evaluated had considerable smoking histories. Further, because smoking has not been shown to be a risk factor for bronchiolitis obliterans, our findings are inconsistent with claims that diacetyl and/or 2,3-pentanedione exposure are risk factors for this disease.
In case you are wondering, the “bronchiolitis obliterans” is commonly known as the “popcorn lung” and apparently NIH does not consider diacetyl to be a risk factor for it. So if cigarettes contain more diacetyl than e-cigarettes, yet do not cause the dreaded “popcorn lung”, and the diacetyl found in them is not a risk factor in the “popcorn lung” at all, why would you want to warn people about the diacetyl in e-cigarettes?
This almost looks like somebody really does not want us to vape, but for what reason? That seems pretty obvious to most vapers.
Chemnovatic e-liquids and flavorings are diacetyl-free. And always they be!
Regardless of the confusing research findings Chemnovatic e-liquids and flavorings never contained any diacetyl, nor do we plan on adding any in the future. You may find all the certificates confirming our claims on our website, for Chemnovatic flavorings please go here. Happy vaping!
See also:
- “E-Cigarettes Are The Most Popular Stop Smoking Aid In England”: Statement Of Public Health England
- Nicotine Absorption And Nicotine Salts
- Harmful Substances In E-Liquid Flavorings
- Long Term Effects Of Vaping [Research]
- What About Vaping Sucralose?
Let’s grow your business together!
Subscribe to our newsletter and receive a free access to our e-mail course on raw materials for e-liquids production (and more!).
No spam, only valuable content we promise to send you.
