Given the “permanent” impacts of vaping, an expert has chimed in on why “prevention” rather than “treatment” is the only viable option.
It was disclosed earlier this year that a 17-year-old who had vaped for three years had been diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, the scientific term for “popcorn lung,” an irreversible illness.
Donal O’Shea, a chemistry professor at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, has spoken out about the severity of “popcorn lung” and the reasons the phrase originated when vapes first appeared.
The specialist also clarified why the flavouring chemical used in vapes is what might harm the body so severely and permanently.
Professor O’Shea explained in an article for The Conversation that the phrase “popcorn lung” originated when a number of employees experienced lung issues as a result of working at a microwave popcorn factory that employed the chemical diacetyl.
Like the popcorn factory, flavouring vapes include diacetyl, a substance that turns into a “toxic inhalant” when it is aerosolised.