Diacetyl is a chemical used in the flavouring industry to produce a creamy, buttery flavour. It is part of a group of chemicals known as Diketones, which also include Acetyl Propionyl and Acetoin. Acetyl Propionyl and Acetoin can potentially contain or form trace amounts of Diacetyl under certain conditions.

The fear around Diacetyl comes from a case in the 1990’s where a group of workers in a microwave popcorn factory contracted ‘popcorn lung’ (bronchiolitis). The workers inhaled large amounts of Diacetyl (used in the butter flavour) in very high concentration in a powdered form. It is generally accepted that the Diacetyl was the cause of the disease.

The Diacetyl that is found in E-liquids is not the same as the ones found in this factory, for one it is not in powder form which is more harmful to lungs. There have been no recorded illnesses relating to popcorn lung caused by vaping.

Diacetyl is safe for use in food and is present in cigarettes at a level somewhere between 10 and 100 times that found in any vapour product to date.

The TPD prohibits the use of Diacetyl in any TPD approved e-liquids as a precaution, all of our own brand E-liquids adhere to these rules.