Ben Youdan, director of Action on Smoking and Health, worries the findings will promote the view that vaping is just as bad for you as smoking. Lead author Bernard Stewart said it provided "by far the strongest evidence" vapes - like cigarettes - could cause lung and oral cancer. The fear was studies like this - and the way they have been reported - will deter smokers from using vapes as a gateway to quitting altogether. The researchers noted there was still no epidemiological link between using vapes and cancer, but proving cigarettes caused cancer took a century, and vapes had only been around for two decades. There was evidence however vaping amongst teenagers is now more popular than smoking was in 2011/2.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 01, 2026 19:22 UTC