26 December
Top Ten Ridiculous E-Cigarettes Cause Popcorn Lung Claims of 2024
Perhaps the most misleading and damaging claim that is still being made about e-cigarette use in 2024 is the contention that vaping e-cigarettes causes bronchiolitis obliterans, or "popcorn lung," which is a severe lung disease characterized by inflammation and scarring in the deepest airways of the lung. The most recent iteration of this fallacious claim appears to have originated, at least in part, from a widely-cited 2016 American Lung Association article entitled "Popcorn Lung: A Dangerous Risk of Flavored E-Cigarettes." The only evidence presented to support this claim was that low levels of diacetyl were detected in the e-liquids of a number of e-cigarette brands and that massive acute exposure to diacetyl has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans in popcorn factory workers. The claim was not based on a single documented case of popcorn lung occurring in someone who used e-cigarettes.
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