Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsVaping and CancerLatest ResearchRiskType of CancerNicotineIngredients to AvoidLung EffectsPopcorn LungOther Potential ProblemsHow to Quit Vaping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Vaping and Cancer
Latest Research
Risk
Type of Cancer
Nicotine
Ingredients to Avoid
Lung Effects
Popcorn Lung
Other Potential Problems
How to Quit Vaping
While some look to vaping as a potentially less harmful alternative to smoking cigarettes, it is unclear whether it may increase your risk of cancer. Although there is no tobacco in vapes, the chemicals in them are of concern for lung health and cancer risk.
In vaping, a liquid is heated until it becomes an aerosol of tiny particles. But this is not just a watery mist, and potential problems can arise from the chemicals in the vapor. Just how safe e-cigarettes or other vaping products are in the long term remains unknown.
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Vaping and Cancer: Is There a Link?
With vaping, the aerosol particles are inhaled into the lungs. Whether this can ultimately cause cancer is something that is still being investigated.
The American Cancer Society warns that while the amount of harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes is a lot lower than in traditional ones, the vapor does have some potentially cancer-causing chemicals.
Vapes contain many of the same chemicals that cigarettes do. Cancer-causing substances in vapes include the following:
Other toxic vape substances include components you may recognize, like chlorine andmercury. Substances in vapes known to damage internal organs include benzaldehyde, cadmium, crotonaldehyde, and dimethylnitrosamine.
It will be some time before it’s known conclusively whether these substances are doing the damage many suspect is possible.
A Word From VerywellQuitting smoking, including vaping, is the best decision for your health.—SANJA JELIC, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
A Word From Verywell
Quitting smoking, including vaping, is the best decision for your health.—SANJA JELIC, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Quitting smoking, including vaping, is the best decision for your health.
—SANJA JELIC, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
What the Latest Research Says
Some turn to vaping as an alternative to smoking. While research shows it is less harmful than tobacco, that doesn’t make it safe.
Among other things, there’s a substance known as acrolein that e-cigarettes produce. Acrolein is used as a weed killer. When it gets into the lungs, it can causechronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)and possiblyasthma. It can potentially cause lung cancer.
But it’s too soon to say if this is true since cancer can take decades to develop, and vaping is relatively new.
How Likely Are You to Develop Cancer From Vaping?
More studies and long-term data are needed to assess the cancer risks of vaping. It remains unclear whether vaping alone canresult in cancerHowever, there is evidence that vaping increases the risk of lung cancer in people who also smoke tobacco.
A study reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in 2024 found that those who vaped in addition to smoking tobacco had a 3 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than people who only smoked.As almost all of the subjects who vaped also smoked, the study couldn’t make a conclusion about vaping alone.
Does Vaping Increase Your Risk for a Certain Type of Cancer?
Vaping is relatively new, and it has not yet been shown to cause cancer in humans—something that can take decades.
In one study, mice were exposed to e-cigarettes for 54 weeks, which translates into around three to six years of human vaping. Many developed lung adenocarcinoma and bladder urothelial hyperplasia, which can lead to cancer.
Whether the same will hold for humans is unknown, but researchers believe it is reasonable to think it could.
Does It Matter If the Juice Has Nicotine in It?
While smoking substances with nicotine can be addictive, current evidence for its carcinogenic effects is inconclusive.After exposing rats to vaporized nicotine for two years, scientists found that the rats remained cancer-free.
Are There Certain Ingredients to Avoid?
All vapes are not the same. You are not breathing in pure water vapor. Certain ingredients may pose a greater potential hazard than others.
Most vapes contain nicotine. This substance is highly addictive and also affects your brain and your ability to concentrate and control how you act.This is especially of concern for teens and young adults.
Nicotine can also lead to mood swings. At first, the nicotine in your system spurs the release of dopamine, a chemical messenger between nerve cells, making you feel good and want more. But eventually, as this leaves your system, you may become angry, anxious, and agitated.
Base Liquids
The base for vaping is not pure water and should not be considered such. Usually, it haspropylene glycol, which can be added to food but is also used to make artificial smoke and is part of products like antifreeze and paint solvents.Glycerol (glycerin)may also be included. It is a sugar alcohol also used in many products.
Flavors
Mint (menthol) has been known to cause e-cigarettes to make more vapor particles and cause poorer lung function for those selecting this flavor.
Research indicates that flavors that contain a sweetener known as diacetyl can lead to a serious lung condition known asbronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung.This is not a cancerous condition, but it causes irreversible lung damage.
Does Vaping Affect the Lungs the Same Way as Cigarette Smoking?
You maywonder if vaping is better than smoking. The fact is that vaping and cigarette smoking work differently. With cigarette smoking, you are burning solid vegetation, which allows the destructive chemicals to go right to the lung tissue. But exposes you to heated liquid particles instead.
While so far, vaping appears less harmful than smoking cigarettes, really knowing what the cumulative effects will be will take time. With cigarette smoke, there are higher concentrations of harmful substances in lung tissue. But it remains unknown whether even small amounts of these substances can lead to disease.
Even small amounts of DNA damage can build up and cause changes in cells that lead to lung cancer. While some of these early changes have been seen in the laboratory, only time will tell whether this causes disease in the population.
What About Popcorn Lung?
When diacetyl is used as a sweetener in vape liquids, it can lead to lung damage known as popcorn lung (bronchiolitis obliterans). The condition got its name from workers in a microwave popcorn factory who continually inhaled this substance, which was used to create a buttery flavor on the product.
While diacetyl has been removed from microwave popcorn products and is no longer a threat to workers, it continues appearing in vapes.
Popcorn lung causes the air sacs to scar and the airways to thicken and narrow. The effects are not reversible. Symptoms of this serious lung condition include shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing.
Other Potential Health Problems From Vaping
Vaping has a variety ofhealth risksand can lead to problems such as the following:
Does Vaping Make You Lose Weight?
Those who vape and who wish to quit can do so, and the following tips can help:
Summary
While vaping has not yet been firmly linked to cancer, it is not in the clear either. Using e-cigarettes can cause you to inhale toxic substances that could potentially lead to cancer. If you smoke and also vape, you may be more likely to develop cancer than if you only smoke.
17 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.What do we know about e-cigarettes.Committee on the Review of the Health Effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. (Stratton K, Kwan LY, Eaton DL, eds.). National Academies Press; 2018.Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council.Inhalation toxicity of non-nicotine e-cigarette constituents: risk assessments, scoping review and evidence map. February, 2022.Cancer Institute NSW.Every vape is a hit to your health.Cancer Research UK.Vaping: what we know and what we don’t about e-cigarettes.American Lung Association.The impact of e-cigarettes on the lung.Bittoni MA, Carbone D, Harris R.Abstract 2213: Vaping, smoking and lung cancer: a case-control study.Cancer Research. 2024;84(6_Supplement):2213-2213. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-2213Tang MS, Tang YL.Can electronic-cigarette vaping cause cancer?J Cancer Biol. 2021;2(3):68-70. doi:10.46439/cancerbiology.2.027Haussmann HJ, Fariss MW.Comprehensive review of epidemiological and animal studies on the potential carcinogenic effects of nicotine per se.Crit Rev Toxicol. 2016;46(8):701-34. doi:10.1080/10408444.2016.1182116U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.Government of Canada.Risks of vaping.American Lung Association.What is an e-cigarette?Yale Medicine.How much do we really know about flavored vaping products?Chandra D, Bogdanoff RF, Bowler RP, Benam KH.Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers.Respir Res2023;24(1):108. doi:10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9MD Anderson Cancer Center.Does vaping cause lung cancer?American Lung Association.Popcorn lung: a dangerous risk of flavored e-cigarettes.Texas Health and Human Services.How to quit vaping.
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.What do we know about e-cigarettes.Committee on the Review of the Health Effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. (Stratton K, Kwan LY, Eaton DL, eds.). National Academies Press; 2018.Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council.Inhalation toxicity of non-nicotine e-cigarette constituents: risk assessments, scoping review and evidence map. February, 2022.Cancer Institute NSW.Every vape is a hit to your health.Cancer Research UK.Vaping: what we know and what we don’t about e-cigarettes.American Lung Association.The impact of e-cigarettes on the lung.Bittoni MA, Carbone D, Harris R.Abstract 2213: Vaping, smoking and lung cancer: a case-control study.Cancer Research. 2024;84(6_Supplement):2213-2213. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-2213Tang MS, Tang YL.Can electronic-cigarette vaping cause cancer?J Cancer Biol. 2021;2(3):68-70. doi:10.46439/cancerbiology.2.027Haussmann HJ, Fariss MW.Comprehensive review of epidemiological and animal studies on the potential carcinogenic effects of nicotine per se.Crit Rev Toxicol. 2016;46(8):701-34. doi:10.1080/10408444.2016.1182116U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.Government of Canada.Risks of vaping.American Lung Association.What is an e-cigarette?Yale Medicine.How much do we really know about flavored vaping products?Chandra D, Bogdanoff RF, Bowler RP, Benam KH.Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers.Respir Res2023;24(1):108. doi:10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9MD Anderson Cancer Center.Does vaping cause lung cancer?American Lung Association.Popcorn lung: a dangerous risk of flavored e-cigarettes.Texas Health and Human Services.How to quit vaping.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Cancer Society.What do we know about e-cigarettes.Committee on the Review of the Health Effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. (Stratton K, Kwan LY, Eaton DL, eds.). National Academies Press; 2018.Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council.Inhalation toxicity of non-nicotine e-cigarette constituents: risk assessments, scoping review and evidence map. February, 2022.Cancer Institute NSW.Every vape is a hit to your health.Cancer Research UK.Vaping: what we know and what we don’t about e-cigarettes.American Lung Association.The impact of e-cigarettes on the lung.Bittoni MA, Carbone D, Harris R.Abstract 2213: Vaping, smoking and lung cancer: a case-control study.Cancer Research. 2024;84(6_Supplement):2213-2213. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-2213Tang MS, Tang YL.Can electronic-cigarette vaping cause cancer?J Cancer Biol. 2021;2(3):68-70. doi:10.46439/cancerbiology.2.027Haussmann HJ, Fariss MW.Comprehensive review of epidemiological and animal studies on the potential carcinogenic effects of nicotine per se.Crit Rev Toxicol. 2016;46(8):701-34. doi:10.1080/10408444.2016.1182116U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.Government of Canada.Risks of vaping.American Lung Association.What is an e-cigarette?Yale Medicine.How much do we really know about flavored vaping products?Chandra D, Bogdanoff RF, Bowler RP, Benam KH.Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers.Respir Res2023;24(1):108. doi:10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9MD Anderson Cancer Center.Does vaping cause lung cancer?American Lung Association.Popcorn lung: a dangerous risk of flavored e-cigarettes.Texas Health and Human Services.How to quit vaping.
American Cancer Society.What do we know about e-cigarettes.
Committee on the Review of the Health Effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Health and Medicine Division, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. (Stratton K, Kwan LY, Eaton DL, eds.). National Academies Press; 2018.
Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council.Inhalation toxicity of non-nicotine e-cigarette constituents: risk assessments, scoping review and evidence map. February, 2022.
Cancer Institute NSW.Every vape is a hit to your health.
Cancer Research UK.Vaping: what we know and what we don’t about e-cigarettes.
American Lung Association.The impact of e-cigarettes on the lung.
Bittoni MA, Carbone D, Harris R.Abstract 2213: Vaping, smoking and lung cancer: a case-control study.Cancer Research. 2024;84(6_Supplement):2213-2213. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-2213
Tang MS, Tang YL.Can electronic-cigarette vaping cause cancer?J Cancer Biol. 2021;2(3):68-70. doi:10.46439/cancerbiology.2.027
Haussmann HJ, Fariss MW.Comprehensive review of epidemiological and animal studies on the potential carcinogenic effects of nicotine per se.Crit Rev Toxicol. 2016;46(8):701-34. doi:10.1080/10408444.2016.1182116
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.
Government of Canada.Risks of vaping.
American Lung Association.What is an e-cigarette?
Yale Medicine.How much do we really know about flavored vaping products?
Chandra D, Bogdanoff RF, Bowler RP, Benam KH.Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers.Respir Res2023;24(1):108. doi:10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9
MD Anderson Cancer Center.Does vaping cause lung cancer?
American Lung Association.Popcorn lung: a dangerous risk of flavored e-cigarettes.
Texas Health and Human Services.How to quit vaping.
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