Vaping Marijuana Associated with More Symptoms of Lung Damage than Vaping or Smoking Nicotine Popcorn Lung Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment It's official. Flavored e cigarettes cause permanent lung damage. And doctors are already seeing it happen. In the United States, a teenager developed something called popcorn lung after secretly vaping for three years. Popcorn lung: What is it, and who is at risk? Harvard Health