While smoking rates have fallen to record lows, vaping has become increasingly common, with some evidence finding it to be a less harmful alternative to cigarettes.
But a new study out of Manchester Metropolitan University is countering that, determining that e-cigs are at least as harmful as regular ones — and in at least one key way, they’re worse.
“At the beginning [of the study], I also believed that vaping was more beneficial than smoking,” Dr. Maxime Boidin told the Daily Mirror. “You see a lot more people vaping these days because they don’t think it’s too bad. Many will be horrified to know the truth.”
The study has been underway since 2023 and is projected to wrap up in March, but Dr. Boidin is already sharing warnings he’s gleaned from the results.
“What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers,” he said.
They were able to link vaping to the possibility of organ failure, heart disease, and brain issues like dementia.
It can also impact fitness levels.
“In this study, we looked at a group of young people with no apparent signs of lung damage. Among the people who had been vaping or smoking for at least two years, we saw important differences in how well they coped with exercise,” Dr. Azmy Faisal, a senior lecturer in cardiorespiratory physiology at Manchester Met, said last year.
“The smokers and the vapers had measurably excess breathing while using the exercise bikes. They found it harder to breath, their muscles became more fatigued, and they were less fit overall. In this regard, our research indicated that vaping is no better than smoking.”
They also found that people who vaped had damaged artery walls which wouldn’t dilate during a stress test, which could indicate heart problems in the future.
While the damage was clear for both vapers and smokers, Boidin noted that a clear difference in smoking and vaping behavior can make the latter more dangerous.
“Smokers tend to go outside and smoke, and once a cigarette is finished they have to light up another to keep going,” he said.
“But with vapes, you just keep going and it’s much harder to know how many puffs you’ve had. It’s much easier to vape continuously because you can do it in places where smoking might be less acceptable.”
While this latest research offers a counterpoint to advice that vaping can help people quit smoking, other experts have come forward in recent years to warn about the dangerous of e-cigarettes.
The American Heart Association has called the rise in young people using vapes a “serious public health threat,” noting that most still have “highly addictive” nicotine, which can be especially harmful for developing brains.
The vapor may also contain the chemical diacetyl, which has been linked to lung disease, as well as nickel, tin and lead.
There have been a number of startling reports of serious lung injuries caused by vaping as well.
Jordan Brielle, 32, told Kennedy News and Media last year that she nearly died when her lungs collapsed and black goo poured out of her.
She’d been a longtime smoker before switching to vaping in 2021, becoming so addicted that she showered and slept with an e-cigarette.
Eventually she developed a horrible cough, lost her voice, and watched as her body swelled from her ankles to her kneecaps, her skin turning grey and her mind failing to focus.
She was ultimately rushed to the hospital, where doctors suctioned two liters of black fluid from her lungs.
Other users of e-cigs have complained of ailments like “vaping illness” and “vape tongue.”
Research presented at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago last year also highlighted the dangers of vaping, even when no nicotine is in the vape.
