Can Vaping Cause Popcorn Lung?

Many smokers trying to quit, as well as new users who have just become interested in nicotine, head to vape shops to buy atomizers and flavored "e-liquid"—believing these products to be safer alternatives to tobacco. However, some online media outlets have sensationalized claims that vaping can cause the respiratory disease known as "popcorn lung." Everyone has probably heard of "popcorn lung" before—it’s one of the most alarmist topics and a favorite talking point among anti-VAPE groups.

But is that really true? I don’t think so. They’re exaggerating the issue every time by focusing on the "diacetyl" found in some e-liquids, trying to scare away potential vapers!

Diacetyl, also known as 2,3-butanedione, is a flavoring agent often added to food to simulate a buttery taste or enhance sweetness. The popcorn most people are familiar with gets its buttery aroma from diacetyl. Many common food flavorings contain diacetyl or other diketones, and some e-liquids may also use this kind of flavoring.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recognized diacetyl as a flavoring that is "generally recognized as safe," and no negative health effects have been observed from eating or drinking it.

The concern comes from cases in the United States where eight workers at a popcorn factory developed bronchiolitis obliterans, commonly known as "popcorn lung." Bronchiolitis obliterans is a very serious disease, and currently there is no effective treatment other than a lung transplant. Many people use this to attack vaping, arguing that because vaping products may contain diacetyl, inhaling it into the lungs could cause "popcorn lung."

Ironically, there have been cases linked to popcorn exposure, but there has never been a single vaper diagnosed with popcorn lung. More importantly, this has never been seen in smokers either.

Why mention cigarettes? Because cigarettes also contain diacetyl—and in much greater amounts than vapor products. The diacetyl content in cigarettes can be 750 times higher than in vaping products!

(On this case, I’d also like to add a few words: a 59-year-old man in Colorado was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans after years of consuming microwave popcorn and successfully won $7.3 million in compensation. So eating fewer buttery snacks isn’t bad advice.) The reason popcorn factory workers developed lung disease was long-term exposure to diacetyl flavoring, which formed fine airborne particles that were inhaled. But the concentration of diacetyl in the e-liquid we use is very low, and many e-liquids do not contain diacetyl at all. Since popcorn lung cannot be definitively diagnosed without a biopsy, past case studies have only suggested that it may be related to diacetyl or another flavoring compound, acetoin. Even within the medical community, it has not been conclusively proven that diacetyl alone is to blame.

So while we cannot say with absolute certainty that inhaling diacetyl in e-liquid carries zero risk, the fact is that there has not been a single confirmed case so far, nor any solid scientific conclusion establishing that link.

Although vaping may not offer any obvious benefits for people who do not smoke, compared with smoking, Vaping is indeed much healthier.

So based on the science available at present, flavorings in e-liquids cannot be said to cause popcorn lung. Eat fewer snacks, smoke fewer cigarettes, and switching to vaping really isn’t a bad idea!