![<p>Nicotine might not be the only health hazard tied to e-cigarettes. A group of Harvard scientists recently&nbsp;<a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/advpub/2015/12/ehp.1510185.acco.pdf" target="_blank">released a study</a>&nbsp;indicating a flavoring chemical found in e-cigarettes can cause a pretty gross lung disease. (Video via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqgbdfZk20" target="_blank">BBC</a>)</p><p>Its formal name is bronchiolitis obliterans. Its nickname is &quot;popcorn lung.&quot; It&#39;s an irreversible respiratory condition that causes the tiny air sacs in the lungs to become scarred.&nbsp;</p><p>It was&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings/" target="_blank">discovered in 2000</a>&nbsp;after employees at a Missouri factory inhaled butter flavoring for microwave popcorn on a daily basis. Workers developed several symptoms including wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.</p><p>Experts later learned the butter flavor contained a chemical called diacetyl. That chemical, and two other harmful compounds, were found in 75 percent of the e-cigarette flavored liquids studied in this project. (Video via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_DsHCic534" target="_blank">The New Yorker</a>)</p><p>The scientists tested 51 types of flavored e-cigs and liquids by placing each into a sealed chamber attached to a device that drew air through the e-cig for eight seconds at a time with a resting period of 15 or 30 seconds between each draw. After that, the air stream was analyzed.</p><p>Since many states still sell e-cigs to minors, researchers purposefully tested flavors &quot;with [the] potential appeal to young people such as cotton candy, Fruit Squirts and cupcake.&quot; (Video via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigfO9pK-mg" target="_blank">CNN</a>)</p><p>Forty-seven of the 51 flavors tested contained at least one of the potentially harmful chemicals.</p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images.</i></p>](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/90d133d/2147483647/strip/false/resize/95x53!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsharing.newschannel5.com%2Fsharescnn%2Fphoto%2F2015%2F12%2F09%2F1449614653_28087429_ver1.0_640_480.jpg)
E-cigarettes are often touted as safer than traditional tobacco products, but according to a study released by the Harvard School of Public Health, they may still be extremely harmful to smokers’ health.
According to the study, 75 percent of flavored e-cigarettes and refill liquids tested contained the chemical diacetyl — a chemical that causes an incurable disease known as “Popcorn Lung.”
“Popcorn Lung,” otherwise known as bronchiolitis obliterans, causes scarring in tiny air sacs in the lungs that lead to excessive coughing and shortness of breath. “Popcorn Lung” earned its nickname in 2004 when several workers at a Missouri popcorn factory developed the disease.
Though diacetyl is often associated with buttering flavor used in popcorn, it’s also found in fruit and alcohol flavorings often used in e-cigarettes.
What’s even more disturbing is that diacetyl was found in a number of e-cigarette flavors that could appeal to children, like “Cotton Candy,” “Fruit Squirts” and “Cupcake.”
Forty-seven of the 51 e-cigarettes and liquids tested in the study contained diacetyl or a chemical that “may pose a respiratory hazard.”
“Since most of the health concerns about e-cigarettes have focused on nicotine, there is still much we do not know about e-cigarettes,” said study co-author David Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics. “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.”
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that turn flavored liquids and nicotine into vapor. In 45 of 50 states, e-cigarette use is not necessarily outlawed in otherwise smoke-free venues.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
