Prime Highlights
- A 17-year-old woman patient was diagnosed with a fatal illness, referred to as “popcorn lung,” following years of vaping flavored e-cigarettes.
- Permanent scarring of the lungs has triggered new warnings of the health hazard of vaping, particularly in young people.
Key Facts
- Popcorn lung, or bronchiolitis obliterans, permanently damages the lung’s tiny airways by clogging the air.
- It is brought about by chemical exposure, such as to diacetyl, which is found in most vape juices with flavor.
- Symptoms are chronic cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath, which are most frequently misdiagnosed as asthma.
Background of Significance
A recent example, that of a 17-year-old cheerleader who became a national celebrity after a vaping-related issue, illustrated the hazardous long-term health effects of vaping. The teenager, vaping every day on flavored disposable e-cigarettes for almost three years, began to have horrible breathing problems. Physicians assisted her in the development of bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung.”
Popcorn lung is a rare but threatening disease that is accountable for permanent damage and scarring of the small lung airways. Popcorn lung was therefore named when, early in 2000, factory workers who were exposed to diacetyl—the butter-flavored chemical compound used as an additive in microwave pop corn production—contracted the disease. Where e-cigarettes are utilized to vape, their health risk is due to same-typed flavoring material used in their production that’s added to liquids they flavor before infusing inside vapors where a toxic effect results when a lung breathes them.
Clinical trials have shown that most of the e-cig products, particularly the flavoring chemicals they contain, consist of volatile chemicals such as diacetyl and acetyl propionyl. Although they are nontoxic when ingested orally, they are toxic upon inhalation. They cause inflammation of the airways and constriction of airways leading to symptoms in the form of chronic cough, wheezing, and dyspnea, all characteristic of popcorn lung.
Sadly, the illness cannot be reversed. In her case, while she can use inhalers and drugs to help improve her state, she cannot reverse scarring of the lungs. Physicians agree that up to today’s date there is no cure but treatment to it which will prevent it from worsening further and help regain breathing disease.
This was just one developing concern about the long-term safety of e-cigarettes, particularly with the growing use of the technology among youths. Specialists argue that use of flavored vapes, most likely to be consumed by youths, has end-world implications that have not yet been established. This tragic story accompanies spikes in concern for otherwise seeming safer smoking for most individuals.
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