There is increasing evidence that vapes are likely to cause cancer, but we do not yet know to what extent. Since vaping is still relatively new and it can take decades to gather long-term data, we do not yet understand the long-term risks of vaping. But while researchers are gathering more evidence, we answer some more of your questions on this topic.
What is the difference between cigarettes and vapes?
Cigarettes contain tobacco, which is dangerous and deadly. When you smoke, you breath in thousands of chemicals. These toxic substances go straight to your lungs and enter your blood stream where they spread around your body, causing you harm.
As well as being the biggest cause of cancer in the world, smoking puts you more at risk of heart disease, asthma, diabetes and many other health problems.
E-cigarettes and vapes do not contain tobacco. Instead vapes work by heating up nicotine, flavourings and other chemicals so that they can be inhaled.
This does not mean that vaping is completely safe. There are fewer toxins in vapes than cigarettes, but vaping is not risk free.
Is vaping just as dangerous as smoking?
Worldwide, one in five cancer deaths are caused by smoking and it is the biggest single cause of lung cancer. Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Some people use vapes to help them stop smoking, since they are generally considered less dangerous than smoking. However, vapes are still dangerous. We are starting to see increasing evidence that vapes do come with health risks.
What harmful chemicals are in e-cigarettes?
Formaldehyde. A chemical normally found in cleaning products which can cause damage to your lungs.
Acrolein. A substance normally found in insect killer which can damage the lining of your lungs.
Propylene glycol. A liquid that can trigger asthma when it is heated and inhaled in vapes.
Heavy metals. Arsenic and nickel can cause cancer and brain damage.
Nicotine. Even vapes labelled as being nicotine-free may have traces of nicotine, an extremely addictive chemical that can impact brain development and affect your heart and mental health.
Flavourings. Heating these chemicals creates aerosols that can cause long term lung damage
Is it the nicotine that causes cancer?
Nicotine does not cause cancer itself. Nicotine patches and other products designed to help people quit smoking are generally a lot safer than cigarettes. However nicotine is extremely addictive, keeping people using products that are not good for them. Plus it can be bad for your health in other ways, which is why vapes are only recommended as a way to quit smoking and not to be used permanently.
Smoking cigarettes causes at least 16 different types of cancer, not because of the nicotine, but because of at least 70 other toxic chemicals that enter your lungs when you smoke.
Does vaping and smoking together increase cancer risk?
Some people may start vaping as a way to quit smoking, but end up doing both. This dual use may be putting them at even more harm. Research suggests that people who smoke and vape are four times more likely to develop lung cancer than people who only smoke cigarettes.
More research is needed to better understand this finding but it is thought that vaping and smoking cause damage to our lungs in different ways, meaning that dual use causes a wider range of damage.
Can vaping cause cancer on its own?
Evidence is mounting which suggests that vaping can cause cancer. However, what remains unclear is how much. It takes a very long time to gather data about the health impacts of something like vaping, because it involves tracing populations for decades and a lot of analysis to fully understand cause and effect.
Research shows that vaping is associated with DNA damage and inflammation, which are strongly linked to cancer. This evidence suggests that vapes are likely to cause oral and lung cancer but we cannot say yet if there are definitely more cancer cases among people who vape, in the way we can with cigarettes.
For now though, it looks like vaping may not be completely risk free when it comes to your health.
Why does research into vaping and cancer matter?
Vaping is still a relatively new trend, and it can take research a while to catch up, particularly to carry out the long-term studies needed to discover if vaping causes cancer.
Finding out exactly what impact vaping has on our bodies, our organs and our cells requires a lot of time in the lab, as does unravelling how different devices may affect risk.
The more we understand about how cancer starts and what causes it the easier it is to stop. As a cancer research charity, we are committed to funding vital discovery research to help us discover how habits like vaping may increase our risk of cancer, and what we can all do to reduce our risk.
Frequently asked questions
How does vaping affect young people?
An estimated 400,000 11-17 year olds in the UK vape and around a third of teenagers who vape will go on to smoke cigarettes. Most vapes contain nicotine, even those that are labelled as nicotine-free may have traces of it. Nicotine is highly addictive, and can affect the development of teenagers’ brains.
Does vaping cause lung cancer?
Vaping is relatively new, so we do not yet have long-term studies that prove vaping causes lung cancer. But research in mice showed that animals exposed to vapour from e-cigarettes developed tumours in their lungs quicker than those that were not exposed. Evidence suggests that vapes are likely to cause lung cancer, but more research is needed to fully understand this.
Is vaping without nicotine safe?
Most vapes contain nicotine, even those that are labelled as nicotine-free may have traces of nicotine.
Vapes contain a lot of toxic chemicals as well as nicotine, so even nicotine free vapes may be harming your health.
Is it right that nicotine is the part that causes cancer?
No, nicotine does not cause cancer itself. Nicotine patches and other products designed to help people quit smoking are generally a lot safer than cigarettes. However nicotine is extremely addictive, keeping people using products that are not good for them. Plus it can be bad for your health in other ways, which is why vapes are only recommended as a way to quit smoking and not to be used permanently.
Smoking cigarettes causes at least 16 different types of cancer, not because of the nicotine, but because of at least 70 other toxic chemicals that enter your lungs when you smoke.
What research is being done into vaping and cancer?
Research is helping to discover more about any links between vaping and cancer. It will take a long time to do the longitudinal studies needed to show if there are more cases of cancer in people who vape. However, research has already begun to reveal clues that suggest vaping is likely to cause cancer.
Vaping has been shown to be associated with DNA damage and inflammation, which are strongly linked to cancer. Mice studies show that animals exposed to e-cigarette vapour develop tumours in their lungs more quickly. And we know that blood and urine samples from vapers contain chemicals linked to cancer.
More research is needed to find out more about vaping and cancer. The more we can understand about the possible causes of cancer, the quicker we can reach a day where no life is cut short.
Donate today to start new cures
Be part of the united effort to stop lives being cut short by cancer.