This is what vaping does to your body
Experts warn that vaping could cause 'irreversible' damage to children's brain and heart health. What are the health risks associated with vaping?
Experts have issued a strong warning that vaping can leave young people with "irreversible" damage to their health, as evidence on the dangers of vaping mounts.
Professor Maja-Lisa Løchen told the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual congress in Madrid of her concerns that millions of children could be facing long-term health problems in the future.
As reported by the Guardian, Prof Løchen said: "I worry that vaping may be causing irreversible harm to children’s brains and hearts. Of course, we have to wait for long-term data, but I am concerned. It increases your blood pressure, your heart rate, and we know that the arteries become more stiff."
Research shows that the number of young people under the age of 18 trying or using vapes has "skyrocketed" in recent years, prompting the government to launch a campaign earlier this year involving popular influencers urging young people not to start vaping.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried vaping. The government hopes the nationwide campaign will make young people more aware of the "hidden health dangers of vaping".
Vape usage among young people doubled within the three years to 2023, prompting the government to ban the sale of vapes to under-18s in May 2023.
According to children's charity SACPA (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association), NHS hospital admissions for "vaping-related disorders" tripled in two years across all age groups, with exponential rises among young people aged below 20.
From the start of 2022 to the end of 2023, there were 66 hospitalisations due to vaping for patients under the age of 20. Alarmingly, there were 24 admissions of children under the age of 10 – up from only two admissions in the same period in 2021.
Nationwide disposable vape ban
A nationwide ban on disposable vapes came into effect on 1 June 2025, as part of an effort to reduce their appeal to young people as well as their impact on the environment.
Sold in bright colours, disposable vapes come in sweet and fruity flavours like pink lemonade, gummy bear and watermelon.
E-cigarettes confiscated from pupils at Baxter College in Kidderminster were tested in a lab, revealing shocking results.
They found vapes used by children were found to have high levels of lead, nickel and chromium, BBC News unearthed in 2022.
Those using them could be inhaling more than twice the daily safe amount of lead and nine times the safe amount of nickel, while some vapes also contain harmful chemicals similar to those found in cigarette smoke.
The Inter Scientific laboratory in Liverpool analysed 18 vapes to find that most were illegal and hadn't gone through safety testing before being sold, prompting concern about how widespread the issue is.
How safe is vaping?
Advice surrounding the safety of vaping can seem somewhat conflicted.
"Numerous studies from health groups in the UK have concluded that using an e-cigarette, known as vaping, is better for your health compared to smoking," Dr Diana Gall, from Doctor 4 U previously told Yahoo Life.
"A report by Public Health England, which was compiled by several UK-based academics, found that vaping is 95% safer than smoking. Cancer Research UK has also given its support to people using vaping as a means of fighting against smoking related diseases."
However, while the Cancer Research UK website acknowledges e-cigarettes are thought to be better than smoking, it adds: "E-cigarettes are not risk-free. We don't yet know their long-term effects, so people who have never smoked shouldn't use them."
The charity points out that there is no good evidence to show that vaping [when using safety-checked vapes] causes cancer. But, it adds: "They can cause side effects such as throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough and feeling sick. These side effects tend to reduce over time with continued use. We don’t know yet what effects they might have in the long term."
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has said previously: "If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape; marketing vapes to children is utterly unacceptable."
The health implications of vaping
While many experts believe vaping is much less damaging to health compared to smoking, some research has cast an element of doubt over those beliefs.
For example:
National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies highlighted the damaging effect of vaping on blood vessels. Long-term use of electronic cigarettes, or vaping products, can significantly impair their function, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, the research suggested
Also, something to be aware of is that ending up using both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes can cause an even greater risk when done together
Researchers from the University of Athens also previously found that flavourings in e-cigarettes harm the lungs by causing inflammation
Other research has raised questions about the chemicals in e-cigarettes. "Certain studies have found certain chemicals in e-cigarette vapour that are the same than those found in cigarette smoke, but they are [typically] at much lower levels," explains Dr Gall.
NHS figures also show a rise in the number of children admitted to hospital due to vaping.
Forty children and young people were admitted to hospital in England last year due to "vaping-related disorders", which could include lung damage or worsening asthma symptoms, up from 11 two years earlier, the NHS said.
How to talk to your children about vaping
The NHS has put together some facts to tell young people about vaping:
Vaping is a way for adults to stop smoking – not something for non-smokers, especially children and young people to try.
Vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking but that does not mean it is harmless.
In the UK, it is against the law to sell nicotine vaping products to under-18s or for adults to buy them on their behalf.
Vaping exposes users to some toxins, and we do not yet know what the risks might be in the longer term.
Some vapes contain nicotine, which is an addictive substance that can be hard to stop using once you have started.
Nicotine may be more risky for young people than for adults, as evidence suggests the brain in adolescence is more sensitive to its effects.
Some disposable vapes on sale are illegal and do not meet UK quality and safety regulations.
Read more about smoking and vaping:
Kate Garraway shares moment she became ‘instantly addicted’ to disposable vapes (Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read)
Number of children vaping spikes 50% in a year (Independent, 5-min read)
Australia bans recreational vaping to avoid having ‘nicotine addicts’ (Independent, 2-min read)
Additional reporting PA.
