A recent study from University College London has found that e-cigarettes may not be the safer alternative to smoking that we previously thought.
Researchers studied cells in the cheeks and blood of more than 3,500 healthy people who had never had cancer and regularly used either tobacco, e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
The researchers found that changes in the make-up of the cells in the cheek lining, which have been linked to cancer, are the same for those using vapes as cigarettes.
However, according to Cancer Research UK, it isn’t quite as straightforward as it seems.
Can vaping really cause cancer?
According to the cancer experts at Cancer Research UK, the research didn’t prove that vaping causes cancer. They said: “No. The type of change that this study looked at is different from changes to a cell’s DNA sequence (mutations).
“This study shows that some changes were there but not what they might be doing. So, we don’t have enough information yet to understand what these findings mean in terms of any potential health effects.”
The charity added that E-cigarettes haven’t been around for long enough for us to know what their longer-term health effects could be.
So, while vaping isn’t risk-free and children and people who have never smoked shouldn’t vape, research overall still finds that legal vaping is far less harmful than smoking and can help people who smoke to stop.
Should we stop vaping all together?
Cancer Research UK states that if you used to smoke and are vaping to help you stay off tobacco, your priority must be not going back to smoking. Therefore, if you’re thinking of stopping vaping, make sure that you don’t think there’s a risk you’ll pick up smoking again.
They added: “Decades of research have proven the harmful effects of smoking, which kills one person every five minutes in the UK. Research so far has found that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking and can help people to stop. So, if you smoke and want to stop, e-cigarettes are an option.”
If you are looking for support to stop smoking, find your local Stop Smoking service on the NHS website.