Are e-cigarettes harmful? Studies show that legal e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking
For smokers, legal e-cigarettes are an option to help them quit
E-cigarettes are not risk-free. We do not yet know their long-term effects, so children and people who have never smoked should not use them
You may have heard different stories in the media about the side effects of smoking. This page provides an overview of what we know so far about how smoking affects your health. Our information relates to legal e-cigarettes – those registered with the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Always use legal e-cigarettes from reliable retailers.
What is an e-cigarette?
E-cigarettes are also called e-cigarettes or vaping cigarettes. They heat a liquid and turn it into a vapor that people can breathe in. They often contain nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes. E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, which is the harmful part of cigarettes that causes cancer.
Is smoking harmful? | Cancer Research UK
Does smoking have side effects?
Many people want to know about the health effects of e-cigarettes. They’re still a relatively new product, so it’s too early to know for sure. Many studies have shown that smoking is much less harmful than smoking. This is because e-cigarettes do not contain cancer-causing tobacco, and most of the toxic chemicals found in cigarettes are not in e-cigarettes.
Certain potentially harmful chemicals have been found in e-cigarettes. But the levels are usually low, often much lower than in tobacco cigarettes.
There is no conclusive evidence that smoking causes cancer.
But e-cigarettes are not risk-free. They can cause side effects such as throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough, and nausea. These side effects decrease over time and with continued use. We don’t yet know what impact they might have in the long term.
E-cigarettes should only be used to help you quit smoking or to stop you from going back to smoking. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive. If you have never smoked, you should not use e-cigarettes.
What are the benefits of switching from smoking?
Smoking causes at least 16 different types of cancer, so quitting completely is the best thing you can do for your health. E-cigarettes can help people quit smoking and are an effective smoking cessation tool. There is no safe level of smoking, so it is important to stop using tobacco altogether.
Learn more about tools and support for quitting smoking.
Because smoking is much less harmful than smoking, your health may benefit from switching to smoking. You will reduce your risk of cancer.
Switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes can also save you a lot of money. Some people spend more than others, but in general, smoking is more economical than smoking.
Is passive smoking harmful?
There is no conclusive evidence that secondhand vaping is harmful to people. Since smoking is still relatively new, we can’t be sure there aren’t any long-term effects on people who inhale other people’s steam. But it’s unlikely to hurt.
Passive smoking is different from passive smoking. This is because e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco.
Does nicotine cause cancer?
Nicotine is the chemical that makes cigarettes addictive. But it is not the cause of the harmful effects of smoking, and nicotine does not cause cancer. For many years, people have safely used nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to quit smoking. Nicotine replacement therapy is prescribed by a doctor or can be purchased at a pharmacy.
