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Vaping likely to cause lung and oral cancer, Australian researchers find in new review of evidence
(www.theguardian.com)
Good, take me from this planet faster
this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2026
301 points (94.1% liked)
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Gee who could have guessed that inhaling dubious chemicals causes lung problems.
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I'ma be so annoyed if there are meaningful second hand vaping effects -_-
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it's not that hard to quit smoking if you stop drinking
I mean, no shit it will, but good on the Aussie government to fund the study so that it's all already proven. It's fucking impossible to debate some people without linking to studies like you're defending a Goddamned fucking doctoral thesis.
Showing evidence doesn't even work generally. Psychology doesn't work that way sadly.
- on average
analysed reviews of evidence from animal studies,
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.
However, the review included case reports from dentists who noticed oral cancer in people who had only vaped and who had never smoked.
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.
Have all the flavor additives that they add to these vape juices been studied
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.
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I wouldn't count on the health of those employees being respected either.
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I bet it’s because they overheat the e-juice
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.
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.
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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/
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.
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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. 🙁
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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.
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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.
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Studies in the 50s also said that asbestos was a good material to insulate your house with.
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The tobacco lobby's dead body still twitching it seems.
*for e-cigarettes containing nicotine.
The primary source link in the article is broken, but the second one is two cases of men who consumed 20 and 30 e-cigarettes a day. The third is about nicotine vapes in mice. I don't see anything about non-nicotene vapes.
Did their research for them, article here, paywalled, abstract only (not even citations). They say 3 cases of oral cancer in the abstract, case studies not stats. They also highlight 100x the level of Cotinine (the predominant metabolite of nicotine, so this is shocking I tell you. Shocking, interestingly it's currently being studied as a treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.).
The other thing that might be human (or not, only the abstract), likely in vitro, is "Biomarkers also indicate vaping-attributable oxidative stress, epigenetic change and inflammation in oral and respiratory tissue often specified in comparison with smoking.", pretty unsurprising, "often specified in comparison" seems weaselly, and the rest is mouse studies it seems.
Seems pretty nothing burger to me, going off what I have, if there were significant results the abstract would be much stronger.