Seventeen year old Brianne Cullen, a bright and athletic cheerleader from Nevada, brushed it off like most teens would.
But when she suddenly gasped for breath during practice and called her mother, everything changed.
Her terrified mom, Christine Martin, still recalls the panic in her daughter’s voice.
“She just kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe,’” she shared. “It was the scariest moment of my life.”
Rushing her to the ER, doctors ran multiple tests before delivering a diagnosis that stunned them both — bronchiolitis obliterans, more commonly known as popcorn lung.And it wasn’t reversible.
What makes Brianne’s case even more alarming is that it was all caused by something she had kept hidden for years: vaping.
According to her mother, Brianne secretly started using disposable vapes at 14, hoping to ease the anxiety she felt after returning to school post-pandemic.
Like many teens, she was drawn to colorful packaging, sweet flavors, and the false belief that vaping was safer than smoking.
She would buy $25 devices regularly, puffing away without her family ever noticing. “I walked into her room a hundred times and never once saw her do it,” Christine said.
The diagnosis came as a shock.
Popcorn lung is a chronic and irreversible lung condition where the smallest airways become scarred and inflamed, making it difficult or sometimes impossible to breathe.
The disease earned its nickname after a group of popcorn factory workers in Missouri developed it from inhaling diacetyl, a chemical used in butter flavoring.
While banned in e-cigarettes in the UK, diacetyl is still present in many vape products sold in the U.S., according to health experts.
Even more concerning, a 2025 report revealed one in four kids have tried vaping — and one in ten use them regularly.
Symptoms of popcorn lung include wheezing, chronic cough, fatigue, night sweats, and eventually, respiratory failure in severe cases.
Though Brianne’s condition was caught early, the damage is done.
She now relies on an inhaler to support her breathing, and doctors have warned of potential long-term effects, including the increased risk of lung cancer.
“They told me smoking takes years to damage your lungs but popcorn lung is permanent. There’s no going back,” Christine said.
Health officials warn that in extreme cases, a lung transplant may be the only option.
Christine has now made it her mission to raise awareness among parents and young people alike.
“We need to wake up. This isn’t just a trend — it’s killing kids,” she said.
“Cigarettes were once considered harmless, and now look. We don’t yet know the full extent of what vaping is doing to this generation.”
While definitive studies are ongoing, many believe vaping is already triggering a public health crisis, with cases like Brianne’s serving as an urgent wake-up call.
And for this mom, one message is clear:
“It took a deadly diagnosis for my daughter to stop. Don’t let it get that far.”
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
