Vaping shocker: E-cigarettes linked to lung cancer, study suggests

E-cigarettes, or vapes, have long been touted as a far safer alternative to cigarettes, with some companies claiming their products pose virtually no cancer risk. 

But alarming new research appears to turn this perceived notion on its head. 

In a first study of its kind, researchers analyzed health data from 4.3million ex-smokers and found those who switched to vapes were twice as likely to die from lung cancer, compared to those who went cold turkey.

The findings call into question public health initiatives across the globe, many of which involve encouraging smokers to switch to vapes to prevent lung disease.  

Author of the study Dr Yeon Wook Kim, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Seoul National University hospital, said the results show that 'potential harms' of using e-cigarettes must be considered by physicians when discussing quitting smoking with patients. 

Advertised as a smoking cessation aid, many tobacco smokers have turned to the devices —which contain far less chemicals. 

Cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, many of them cancer-causing, while vapes are thought to contain around 2,000.

E-cigarettes also do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, which are considered two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke.

The concern around e-cigarettes, though, is that chemical reactions between the liquid and metal lead to the release of toxic metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and lead.

And more recent studies have found these metals are associated with a plethora of negative health effects, such as popcorn lung - inflammation in the lungs which causes wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.

Lung cancer as a risk factor, however, was yet to be explored in depth — until now. 

The disease affects about 234,580 Americans and causes 125,070 deaths per year. 

According to the CDC, Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, causing nearly half a million fatalities. 

And the health agency said smoking causes about 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths.  

For the study, researchers looked at data from the 2012-2014 and 2018 South Korea National Health Screening program. 

The maximum level of nicotine permitted in a vape is fixed at 20 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of liquid (two percent) in Europe, the UK, and Canada. These devices last for around 550 to 600 puffs. In the US, it's fairly easy to find a device or pod containing as much as 5 percent nicotine

Participants were divided into six groups based on their smoking history and if they turned to e-cigs.

Researchers found 53,350 people had developed lung cancer and 6,350 died from the disease.

Ex-cigarette smokers who had quit five or more years prior and turned to vaping were twice as likely to experience a lung cancer-related death than ex-smokers who did not vape. 

Additionally, ex-smokers who had quit less than five years prior and began vaping had a 23 percent higher risk of developing lung cancer and a 71 percent higher risk of lung cancer-related death.

Based on their findings, the authors concluded: 'Clinicians must highlight the potential harmful effects of alternative e-cigarettes use when integrating smoking cessation interventions to reduce lung cancer risk.'

The study was presented at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference and an abstract was published in the American Journal and Critical Care Medicine.