Don’t worry! Vaping isn’t dangerous!
Doctors are just reporting the first documented case of ‘Popcorn Lung’ from vaping… And that’s really scary!
After a strange epidemic of deaths and injuries related to low quality vaping products, now doctors have documented the first case of popcorn lung, a life threatening condition that developed in a Canadian 17-year-old teenager male after several months of intense vaping.
This rare but dangerous condition, also known as bronchiolitis obliterans, was first discovered in 2000 among microwave popcorn factory workers exposed to the flavoring chemical diacetyl.
According to this new study, diacetyl present in vaping liquid solutions also lead popcorn lungs and thus uncovers a new form of lung damage linked to e-cigarettes.
What is Popcorn lung?
This life-threatening condition happens after diacetyl (or known as 2,3-butanedione) scar the bronchioles, making it difficult for air to flow freely.
The main respiratory symptoms of this chronic disease are:
cough (usually without phlegm), wheezing, and worsening shortness of breath on exertion. The severity of the lung symptoms can range from mild cough to severe. These symptoms typically do not improve when the worker goes home at the end of the workday or on weekends or vacations. Usually these symptoms are gradual in onset and progressive, but severe symptoms can occur suddenly. Some workers may experience fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Before arriving at a final diagnosis, doctors of affected workers initially confused the symptoms with asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, or smoking.
The Popcorn Lung Vaping Case
This latest case didn’t involve a worker from a popcorn factory or coffee plant. Rather, it involved an otherwise healthy 17-year-old boy who worked at a fast food restaurant.
The teen sought medical attention after developing a persistent cough, fever, and feelings of low energy after “intensively” vaping for a period of five months, using different flavored cartridges to which he regularly added THC.
He was then admitted into the intensive care unit and managed to avoid a double lung transplant. After 47 days in the hospital, he was finally sent home.
According to the authors of the report, the cause of the condition was vaping and the inhalation of the flavored vaping liquids.
Many liquid vaping flavors contain diacetyl. The product has already been banned in Europe. However the use of diacetyl in e-cigarettes in the United States or Canada is still allowed.
A vaping-related illness has sickened more than 2,000 people and killed almost 40 people… And that is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
A tighter regulation of e-cigarettes is needed. And if you consider vaping for the first time, just don’t vape!
