I vaped for one year and almost died' High School Cheerleader Left with 'Deadly Diagnosis' After Secretly Vaping for 3 Years 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. Vaping Possible Negative Effects on Lungs: State of the Art From Lung Capacity Alteration to Cancer Cureus