The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently published a study that, according to their conclusions, 75% of flavored electronic cigarettes and refill liquids contain a chemical called diacetyl. Diacetyl, when inhaled over time, is said to cause a condition known as popcorn lung. It gets its name from the fact that diacetyl is in butter flavoring and caused a number of workers at a popcorn manufacturer to become ill after continued exposure to the chemical. This will probably be the impetus for the government to come down hard on vaping but in my opinion the study (pdf) appears to be flawed.
First off the study mentions products that were deemed ‘appealing to youth’ numerous times. To me that make it seems like they already were biased against vaping and e-cigs to begin with. Secondly while they didn’t mention what brands they tested it seems to me that they tested brands that are available at your local convenience store. I wouldn’t be surprised if those brands cause respiratory problems since they taste like gasoline and are so artificially colored they’ll permanently stain your tank. Most people who vape get their juice from a reputable vape store with better manufacturing standards than the drug store brands. Lastly it completely ignores how many people have been able to quit smoking cigarettes for good because of vaping. While their may be an element of danger to vaping it is highly unlikely that it’s even remotely as dangerous as smoking.
The Trench Reynolds Report 