Does Vaping Cannabis Cause Popcorn Lung? HelloMD Popcorn lung. Vaping lung injury. Let's stop confusing the two. Popcorn lung is the lazy name for bronchiolitis obliteransa disease of the small airways, not the alveoli. It got its name from Popcorn Lung: Separating Myth From Science Vaping Post Health experts are sounding the alarm about a serious condition linked to vaping, known as "popcorn lung" or bronchiolitis obliterans. This irreversible lung disease is caused by harmful chemicals, like diacetyl, found