Greg Harris
Over the past decade, vaping has emerged as one of the most popular ways to consume nicotine.
Both rechargeable and disposable vapes are often promoted as effective tools for quitting smoking.
Pocket-sized vapes are easier to conceal than cigarettes, which is one reason behind their popularity with teenagers. They also have different flavors, from candy, mint and fruit, as well as the appeal of social media content.
And while e-cigarettes are generally safer than tobacco cigarettes, which contain thousands of carcinogenic chemicals, the electronic alternative is not without its own risks, including potential harm to the lungs, heart, and overall health. E-cigarettes contain nicotine and sometimes at a concentration much higher than in traditional cigarettes.
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However, despite numerous warnings about these potential health risks, recent research suggests that vaping can have serious side effects.
The health risks disproportionately affect young people. According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, an estimated 1.63 million teens in middle and high school reported e-cigarette use, accounting for 5.9 percent.
The teens who vape are also vaping more often than before. A separate study found that daily usage grew from 15 percent in 2020, to 29 percent in 2024.
Because vaping is still a relatively new phenomenon, the extent of the long-term consequences remains uncertain.
However, we already know that nicotine is very addictive and is harmful for the developing brain.
Vaping can also cause respiratory issues and can harm lung cells, leading to acute and chronic inflammation. Severe lung injuries, called e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) rose dramatically in 2019 and 2020.
Health and wellness expert Jesse Pines told Forbes about the health issues connected to vaping and warned: “The evidence increasingly shows that vaping is associated with multiple adverse health effects and is unsafe for youth.The extent of the long-term consequences remains uncertain given how recently these products entered widespread use.”
Pines outlines several concerns about long-term vaping especially among teenagers and young adults. This includes nicotine addiction and an impact on the brain as it develops until the age of 25. Adolescent exposure can ‘impair attention, learning, mood regulation and impulse control.’
Young people who vape, Pines says, are ‘three to four times more likely to go on to smoke traditional cigarettes compared to teens who never vaped’.
Vaping is also linked to respiratory problems, with aerosol toxins inducing ‘acute and chronic inflammation’, impairing immune responses, and causing ‘airway hyperresponsiveness (e.g., asthma)’.
Furthermore, vaping 'impairs endothelial function and causes acute hemodynamic changes' such as higher blood pressure, increased heart rate and arterial stiffness.