E-Cigarette Flavours Are Linked To Deadly Lung Disease

Up to three-quarters of flavoured e-cigarettes contain diacetyl - a flavouring linked to the deadly lung disease ‘Popcorn Lung’.

Diacetyl is used in butter-flavoured e-cigarette liquids such as Cupcake and Cotton Candy as well as fruit flavours.

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration warn that diacetyl is associated with the debilitating respiratory disease bronchiolitis obliterans.

The illness is known as ‘Popcorn Lung’ because it first appeared in workers who inhaled artificial butter flavor in microwave popcorn processing facilities.
    
Leady study author Joseph Allan, of Harvard said, "Recognition of the hazards associated with inhaling flavoring chemicals started with 'Popcorn Lung' over a decade ago.

‘However, diacetyl and other related flavoring chemicals are used in many other flavors beyond butter-flavored popcorn, including fruit flavors, alcohol flavors, and, we learned in our study, candy flavored e-cigarettes.

Allen and colleagues tested 51 types of flavored e-cigarettes and liquids sold by leading brands for the presence of diacetyl, acetoin, and 2,3-pentanedione, two related flavoring compounds.

Each e-cigarette was inserted into a sealed chamber attached to a lab-built device that drew air through the e-cigarette for eight seconds at a time with a resting period of 15 or 30 second between each draw. The air stream was then analyzed.
    
At least one of the three chemicals was detected in 47 of the 51 flavors tested. Diacetyl was detected above the laboratory limit of detection in 39 of the flavors tested. Acetoin and 2,3-pentanedione were detected in 46 and 23 and of the flavors, respectively.
    
Study co-author David Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics said, ‘Since most of the health concerns about e-cigarettes have focused on nicotine, there is still much we do not know about e-cigarettes. In addition to containing varying levels of the addictive substance nicotine, they also contain other cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, and as our study shows, flavoring chemicals that can cause lung damage.’