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Vaping likely to cause lung and oral cancer, Australian researchers find in new review of evidence
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2026
258 points (93.3% liked)
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I seriously doubt that, because the bases in e-juice were studied thoroughly in the 50's with no such evidence.
And nicotine has obviously also been studied thoroughly, and the nicotine is not considered a major carcinogen in cigarettes, it's mostly compounds created by the burning of the paper and tobacco that cause cancer that is the actual SMOKE in smoking, which vapes do not have, unless the vape is seriously overheated.
I bet that this study is flawed, if it truly shows indication of cancerous effects, I bet it's because they overheat the e-juice, which has the same effect as burning fat on a frying pan. And with the e-juice taste horribly.
Either that or they've used impure products, and not the pharmaceutical quality products that dominate the industry.
If you are a vaper, make sure the nicotine and base juice are both pharmaceutical quality.
This is partially based on self reporting, which is the least reliable form of study there is.
Also I've never heard such warnings from dentists?
Unfortunately with these kinds of studies, we have to consider they can either be honestly flawed, but worse than that the studies can be dishonest to attract funding.
It is quite amusing to me the level of copium that I read in comments whenever negative health impacts of vaping are pointed out.
Have all the flavor additives that they add to these vape juices been studied on the impacts on the lungs since the 50s to support your “doubt”? Did the studies on PG’s effect on the lungs since the 50s include frequency of use and exposure to the lungs that is consistent with daily use vaping we see today?
You’re evaluating results of the study by assuming that the only thing that can cause oral and lung cancers are inhaling smoke. Which is incredibly flawed thinking.
It could be that perhaps…just maybe…that inhaling anything other than clean air on a consistent basis increases someone’s chances of developing cancer. Crazy thought, I know.
Sure it is likely better than smoking. But anyone that deludes themselves into thinking that their pina colada vape they inhale into their lungs multiple times an hour is healthy and can’t possibly cause any negative health issues is uhhh…not very bright.
Argument from ignorance, they have all been tested to be generally safe, and people that work with them all day long in industries and kitchens are exposed to the vapors too.
I'm sceptical of this study too, but a "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) designation is not meaningful in the context of long term health effects.
It basically means that we know what the chemical is and that we're pretty sure it won't kill you or even make the average person sick, at least not right away. It does not mean the chemical won't harm someone at any dose, frequency, time scale, ROA, etc.
GRAS designation for a novel chemical (in the US) is an easy hurdle to clear, but the fact that a chemical even has it means more study is needed.
Well then IDK what I should call a compound that is actually considered generally safe, as in something that has been used for decades with no known problems.
I wouldn't count on the health of those employees being respected either.
They have unions and doctors, so if a problem is really there it will surface.
I remember there being a study years ago where they even went so far as to heat it until the wicking material (cotton iirc) started to burn then claimed vapes contain the chemicals that were created by the combustion (if you let your vape go dry or you hold the button way too long it's disgusting, nobody would vape like that all the time). The cigarette industry has no morals and will fund anyone who will publish their dodgy "research".
That was the formaldehyde study, although the study that found VG broke down into Dihydroxyacetone did the same thing. Their starting wattage was the max recommended for the coil they used, and that coil was a CE4 style cart.
It's not only the cigarette industry it's also the pharmaceutical industry.
When I vaped (I quit 5 years ago) we were generally warned against using cotton, Silica was by far the most popular when I quit smoking and switched to vaping around 15 years ago. Silica was generally considered more safe.
Iirc the formaldehyde study used silica wicks, they just fired the carts for 90 seconds.
90 seconds, holy shit. Did they burn the lab down?
Yes I remember such a study too, machine vaping in a room with no people, I can't even begin to imagine the stink it must have caused.
Yet another obviously extremely incompetent or dishonest study. Probably the latter IMO.
afaik the bases of e-juice were studied for ingestion, not inhalation.
edit: i was thinking of diacetyl which is sometimes used as a flavoring additive and caused a bunch of lung injury in the early days of microwave popcorn manufacturing. While looking through these I stumbled upon vitamin e acetate (used as a condensing agent in vape products) and it sounds none to good for you either. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6952050/
Then you know wrong, they were studied thoroughly for inhalation too, and were approved and used in kindergartens to prevent respiratory diseases. They are still used in asthma inhalers, and in stage fog machines in rooms crammed with people.
None of the branches that use these compounds very heavily have had problems, and they are still used.
The fact that you are so heavily upvoted just shows that people here are extremely ignorant about the issue, but still feel their ignorant opinion has value.
albuterol inhalers use saline solution as a carrier.
Actually the bases are safe. They were tested extensively for inhalation in like the 50s or 60s.
Nope, PolyEtheleneGlycol (PG) is the carrier in Ventolin inhalers. Glycerine (VG) is something the body knows how to handle because it's the chemical backbone of triglyceride, the most common form of human fat. VG and PG are the usual bases in ejuice.
Valid point for the majority of flavours though (maybe 1-5% by volume), although mint is likely fine and used in some medical contexts and for some reason tobacco flavour is prescribed in Australia, probably because it's disgusting.
Seems like they just use pH-adjusted salt water for it? Been looking for more data but I'm having trouble finding anything that isn't behind stupid paywalls.
Don't forget the massive fog machines, that are allowed indoor in crowded rooms, because of how safe they are.
the dose makes the poison as they say.
I vape and can tell you that degradation of the coil happens even without overheating the element or juice. Which means it's possible for these particles to go into the body.
I vaped for 10 years, if you don't change your coil/wig when it degrades enough to taste bad, you are an idiot.
IDK if you use sub ohm coils or other forms of extreme vaping, but coils don't generally degrade, but they may build up gunk, which can be easily cleaned by burning it off.
But to get the data some studies have shown, you need to REALLY burn the coil, which taste like burned plastic, or like smoking the filter on a cigarette.
It's absolutely awful.
There are many types of vaping, but none of them should make you use overheated coils, unless you make them yourself, and then you are doing it wrong.
Goddam I kind of miss the hobby side of it now. 🙁
Yes I use sub ohm coils. But I think you are wrong and even degradation without overheating makes these particles come lose. Otherwise it's like saying that microplastics are no problem for you because you don't microwave food in plastic containers.
The dentist part makes zero sense...PG is antibacterial and antimicrobial, which we have known for decades now. This study like you said is %100 bullshit, and just like the "popcorn" lung study, probably burned the wicks and metals on the vapes with no solution at all.
Someone's got an agenda here.
The popcorn lung thing is because of diacetyl, which creates a buttery flavor.
Nobody uses diacetyl flavoring anymore.
Correct but in that study they were literally burning the wicks and filaments by running the vape dry.
Even when I was vaping like 15+ years ago you couldn't find liquid with diacetyl flavoring used. It was basically non-existent even then.
Yup! 100% correct. The replacement flavors all contain a GRAS (generally recognized as safe for human consumption) replacement chemical that, if overused, tastes like vomit barf… cuz it’s in barf! If used in the correct quantity though, it creates a nice creamy/buttery/smooth flavor. Thank you, CAP Vanilla Custard 2.0 bottle I’ve had for like a decade and should replace!
Both PG and VG are hydrophilic so they can dry out your mouth which can cause dental issues.
That's one of the few legitimate risks of vaping, albeit a low one.
This comment is full of misinformation. I assume you aren't intentionally trying to spread misinformation. I encourage you to do some research on this bcz most everything you've said is at best misleading, and at worst intentionally wrong.
I started vaping 15 years ago, and I have researched the issue intensively. So no this is not misinformation, you are the one that is uninformed. The number of obviously flawed studies on e-cigs is insane.
It is also funny how you completely fail to show anything wrong with my post, but just make a blanket statement without any real argument.
You are awful defensive in the rest of this thread with people who are providing sources. Would sources even change your mind? Bcz i dont think they would.
Have you researched the issue recently. Because some of the stuff you said was stuff I read about when I started vaping like 10 years ago. Like the stuff about it being too hot. Its something I see repeated a lot by people who dont want to see reality.
Yes, a study, many years ago, did that. But did this study do that? You cant keep trotting that line out and expect it to stay relevant.
Ive stopped vaping as of last year, but it was obvious to me the flavour compounds were a complete unknown.
If you think that was the only fake study you are wrong. There was also a study where they measured the formaldehyde using a test person, in a closed room.
Lo and behold they found formaldehyde, and the press spread the news like rabid dogs.
The problem was that we exhale formaldehyde naturally, and the level of formaldehyde measured was consistent with a person NOT vaping.
Most probably, because as I state there have been numerous studies that show no formaldehyde. These fake studies are made to push an agenda.
Good for you, I also stopped about 5 years ago, something I was unable to without the e-cig.
Not complete, they are used in professional kitchens and industries, where people have been exposed for many decades. The chemical nature is also known and is deemed safe.
You can also vape without flavor, which I did for about a year before quitting, the taste is actually quite nice IMO even without flavor.
But I must admit I can still miss the taste of a good RY4 despite I'm 100% off the nicotine.
Can you not see how biased and untrustworthy you sound? You effectively admitted to not even reading this study.
There is no source to the study, the link doesn't work.
Also even if I read the study, it is not a sure thing that their mistake is obvious, and I've seen dozens of studies that were done correctly that show there are no known carcinogens in the vapor of e-cigs.
Or rather the ones that are detected are way less than 1% of a cigarette, which means vaping similar to smoking 20 cigarettes per day, will expose you to the equivalent of 0.2 cigarette. The biggest number being the formaldehyde we exhale naturally.
So please just piss off with you knee jerk ignorance.
I've studied the issue plenty, I don't need to read yet another flawed study, I've seen plenty of those already.
Here's the link in the article, that you said you couldn't find.
Look i see what you are doing. You half read a few studies 10 years ago now recent science is beneath you. Its obvious, and I want you to know its obvious.
Weird since no major carcinogens are present, why do you think this image with no source and no reference to the actual findings is worth more than the plethora of studies that showed no carcinogens both before e-cigs was a thing, and in the early days of e-cig.?
What exactly are those early signs? Being alive maybe? This is not a link to an actual research paper, this is just bullshit, come back when you have a link to the actual study.
I've read dozens of actual studies, and I have (mostly) learned how to read them, and acknowledge when there are things that are beyond the scope of my knowledge because I don't have a 5-7 year education on the issue. And then I search for info on those issues.
Really Ḯve spend hundreds of hours investigating this thoroughly, and I am an educated guy, the snippet you show is only evidence to me of low info reaction.
The part about inflammation is especially weird since PG, a common basis of e-juice is PROVEN to be anti inflammatory. DNA damage begin to happen from the day we are born, so without qualification that statement while obviously true, is equally obviously worthless.
I wonder if you have any actual knowledge on the subject whatsoever, because you act like one of the unknowing sheep this may very well be supposed to target.
Are you actually reading my messages or just getting a vibe and running with it or what? That picture wasn't meant to be scientific evidence it was simply to demonstrate the falseness of your point about the actual scientific paper not being linked in the article.
I can tell you are defensive about being treated as stupid which isnt what time trying to do. Actually read what my comments say please.
OK so where is the actual scientific paper?
I don̈́t really care that much about journalistic interpretation, because their knowledge is generally sub par, and their reporting sometimes even decidedly misrepresentative.
I'd much rather read the actual paper. I have even seen papers where the conclusion is contradictory to their own results in their research!!! Which to me indicate a paid for conclusion.
Go to the guardian article from the OP. Find the link that was in the image I posted. Its pretty close to the top.
No skin in the argument, I just came to the comments trying to find the study because that link is broken for me. If it's working for you, would you mind linking it here? I can't find the specific one being referenced thru the miasma of google being absolute garbage and it being a recent enough publication that the academic DBs I have access to seemingly don't have that issue yet.
(splash screen at the broken link)
Studies in the 50s also said that asbestos was a good material to insulate your house with.
Were those health studies?
You know the lung problem with asbestos is quite unique, and it may have been unknown back then. If buildings weren't for people, asbestos is very safe regarding fires, and an excellent material in many ways. But it was already in the 60's that we began to ban and remove that shit, exactly because it is harmful to your lungs.
The bases in vaping have been used for instance for asthma inhalers for many many decades and is STILL used for that, and the pharmaceutical industry is pretty heavily regulated. It is also used as stage fog, in fog machines that spew enormous amounts into rooms full of people, with AFAIK no research showing any health problems, for the operators or the musicians or actors that are exposed to it every day.
But for some reason, when it's an e-cig some people suddenly have a knee jerk reaction, and think whatever is inhaled in any way is unhealthy.
Your argument is basically whataboutism, and in that line you could ask yourself, what about the smell of making tea, surely that must be harmful too by your logic. All that tea vapor in the air that you inhale in closed rooms.
Actually it has been shown that people that vape to quit smoking, recover lung functionality faster than any other way of quitting smoking.
So anyone that quit smoking could benefit from using vapes even if they are nicotine free, for a few months.
Also when examined by a doctor, if you are vaping it registers as non smoker when measuring lung capacity.
Well they also have many other ingredients besides the bases that absolutely aren’t tested for inhalation safety. Can’t say one way or the other whether they do because the lack of regulations means no studies are requried.
Well they link the study, but i cant get the link to work. If I were able to actually read their protoctol this research might mean something, but since their source is evidently uncited this is fake news.