For butter or worse, ailing popcorn lover inhaled

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 nonfactory worker involves a man who popped the corn every day and inhaled from the bag.

Wayne Watson, 53, of Centennial, Colo., said he ate two or three bags of microwave popcorn every day for at least 10 years. In an interview late Wednesday, Watson said he is convinced his heavy consumption of popcorn caused his health problems.

Watson has been treated since February 2006 as an outpatient at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, where his condition was diagnosed.

Dr. Cecile Rose, a lung specialist at the hospital, said Wednesday that for a while, she was stumped.

Finally, Rose said, "I turned to the patient and said, 'This is a very weird question ... but have you been around a lot of popcorn?' And his jaw dropped and he said, 'How could you know that about me? Popcorn is my exclusive snack-food preference. I am popcorn.' "

The first apparent case of lung damage from a home popcorn maker came to light Tuesday in a recent letter to federal regulators from Rose.

In the interview, Rose said that no definite link has been established between Watson's heavy popcorn consumption and his lung disease, but "the possibility raises public-health concerns."

There are no warnings from federal regulators, nor is there medical advice on how consumers should treat news of the rare, life-threatening disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung.

The popcorn flavoring contains diacetyl, which has been linked to lung damage in workers inhaling its fumes in food-manufacturing plants. The chemical is a naturally occurring compound that gives butter its flavor and is found in cheese and wine, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

It's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a flavor ingredient, but hundreds of workers have sued flavoring makers in recent years for lung damage.

Dr. David Weissman, head of NIOSH's division of respiratory diseases, said the key difference between homes and the factories is in the level of exposure to diacetyl.

On Wednesday, three of the nation's biggest microwave-popcorn makers — ConAgra Foods, General Mills and American Pop Corn — said they are working to remove diacetyl from butter-flavored products. Last week, another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn, of Indianapolis, said it would replace diacetyl.

While Rose said she lets her children microwave popcorn at home, she is concerned the high levels of fumes measured at Watson's home could be present any time consumers microwave popcorn, and that these high levels could be a factor in causing the disease.

As for Watson, he said he quit eating microwave popcorn earlier this year but craves it. His prognosis is good, he said; he no longer uses an inhaler or takes steroids. And instead of popcorn, he snacks on fruits and vegetables.