Scientists Are Finding Early Cancer Signals From Vaping

Head in the Clouds: Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Vaping isn’t good for you. Nicotine e-cigarettes have been linked to serious lung disease and heart problems. Now, a new review published in the journal Carcinogenesis has identified a link between vaping and pre-carcinogenic biological changes.

The Study: Researchers from Australia’s University of New South Wales analyzed reviews of animal studies, human case reports, and lab studies published between 2017 and 2025 to identify biological changes from using e-cigarettes. They found that vaping causes DNA damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation — known pre-cancerous markers — in oral and respiratory tissue. 

The Takeaway: E-cigarettes are relatively new in comparison to other nicotine products, so there isn’t as much large-scale data on the long-term health effects. It took 100 years of research before the U.S. Surgeon General confirmed in 1964 that smoking causes lung cancer, but researchers are urging regulators and policymakers to act faster than that.

Keep in Mind: The review did not definitively conclude that vaping causes cancer or measure how many people might get cancer from vaping. Experts have said the risk of lung and oral cancers is higher in people who use e-cigarettes compared to those who’ve never vaped.