Buttery popcorn scent may make people sick
Oh. My. Gosh. We're all going to die! Throw out the PopSecret, Mom!
The rare, life-threatening disease has a name: bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung.
However, the truth behind the popcorn lung scare:
Microwave popcorn fans worried about the potential for lung disease from butter flavoring fumes should know this: The sole reported case of the disease in a non-factory worker involves a man who popped the corn every day and inhaled from the bag.
"He really liked microwave popcorn. He made two or three bags every day for 10 years," said William Allstetter, a spokesman for National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver where the man's respiratory illness was diagnosed.
"He told us he liked the smell of popcorn, so he would open and inhale from freshly popped bags," Allstetter said. And the patient said he did this for a decade.
