Vaping facts and myths

A plain-English look at what the NHS and UK Government actually say — with sources.

There’s a lot of noise about vaping out there, and a fair chunk of it isn’t accurate. Some myths have stuck around since the early days; others get repeated by people who genuinely mean well but haven’t checked their sources. This page lays out the most common ones and what the NHS, the UK Government and the medicines regulator actually say.

One thing up front, because honesty matters: vaping isn’t harmless. The NHS is clear that nicotine vaping is less harmful than smoking, not completely safe. If you’ve never smoked, there’s no good reason to start vaping. If you do smoke, switching to a regulated UK vape is one of the most effective ways to quit.

Myth: Vaping is just as harmful as smoking

It isn’t. In 2022 the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (the body that took over the work previously done by Public Health England) reviewed the international evidence and concluded that, in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking. (NHS, citing the 2022 OHID evidence review)

Cigarettes release thousands of chemicals when they burn. Around seventy of them are known to cause cancer. Most of those — including tar and carbon monoxide — aren’t in vape aerosol at all, because nothing is being burnt.

Myth: Nicotine is the thing that gives you cancer

Nicotine is addictive, but it isn’t what causes cancer, lung disease, heart disease or stroke in smokers. Those come from the other toxic chemicals released when tobacco burns. Nicotine itself has been used safely for years in NHS-approved stop-smoking medicines like patches, gum and inhalators. (NHS)

Myth: Vaping doesn’t actually help people quit smoking

The evidence says otherwise. The NHS describes nicotine vapes as one of the most effective stop-smoking aids available, and notes that they are more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies like patches and gum. Almost two-thirds of people who use a vape alongside support from their local Stop Smoking Service successfully quit. (NHS)

If you’re trying to switch, choose an e-liquid with enough nicotine to actually take the edge off your cravings. Too weak and you’ll end up reaching for a cigarette anyway. We’re happy to help you work that out — pop into the shop or give us a ring.

Myth: You’re just swapping one addiction for another

Technically you’re still getting nicotine, yes. But the harm comes from the burning tobacco, not the nicotine, and on a vape there’s no burning tobacco. So you’re swapping a high-harm habit for a much lower-harm one, with the option to reduce the strength gradually and stop entirely when you’re ready. The NHS recommends doing exactly that: step the nicotine strength down as your cravings ease. (NHS)

Myth: People vape more often than they smoked, so it must be worse

It’s normal to take more puffs on a vape than you used to take on a cigarette, and that isn’t more harmful. A cigarette gives you a fast, concentrated nicotine hit from a few minutes of intense smoking. A vape delivers it more gradually, so people tend to sip on one through the day. Each puff carries a small fraction of the risk of a cigarette puff. (NHS)

Myth: Vapes aren’t regulated and you don’t know what’s in them

UK vapes are tightly regulated. Every nicotine-containing vape product sold legally in the UK has to be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with a full ingredients list and safety information. There are limits on nicotine strength, bottle size and tank capacity. (gov.uk — e-cigarette regulations)

The catch is that all this only applies to products sold through the legitimate UK supply chain. Counterfeit and illegal-import vapes aren’t covered, which is why the NHS specifically recommends buying from a reputable source — a specialist vape shop, pharmacy, supermarket or UK-based online retailer. That’s us, for the avoidance of doubt.

Myth: Vaping causes ‘popcorn lung’

This one comes up a lot, and the answer is genuinely simple. Popcorn lung (proper name: bronchiolitis obliterans) is a real but rare disease that was found in a group of US factory workers who were exposed to a chemical called diacetyl while flavouring popcorn. Diacetyl is found in cigarette smoke. It’s banned as an ingredient in UK nicotine vapes and e-liquids. There has never been a confirmed case of popcorn lung caused by vaping. (NHS)

Myth: Second-hand vape is dangerous to people nearby

The current evidence says no. Second-hand cigarette smoke causes serious harm to bystanders — that’s well-established. There’s no evidence so far that second-hand vape aerosol does the same, and any risk is thought to be very low. (NHS)

That said, common sense applies. The NHS suggests avoiding vaping around babies and small children where you can, and being considerate around anyone with conditions like asthma. Not because there’s proof of harm, but because it’s the decent thing to do.

Myth: That American lung-injury outbreak (EVALI) was caused by vaping

You might remember a wave of serious lung injuries in the United States in 2019, sometimes called EVALI. The US Centers for Disease Control investigated and identified the cause: vitamin E acetate, a thickening agent added to illicit THC cartridges sold on the black market. It wasn’t caused by regulated nicotine vapes, and the affected products weren’t legal in the UK in the first place. Vitamin E acetate is banned from UK e-liquids. (US CDC, on EVALI)

What the NHS and UK Government actually recommend

If you smoke and you’re thinking about switching: the official NHS position is that nicotine vaping is one of the most effective tools available, particularly when paired with support from a Stop Smoking Service. The 2022 OHID evidence review is the source of the “small fraction of the risks of smoking” line you’ll see quoted everywhere. (gov.uk — OHID 2022 evidence update)

If you don’t smoke: don’t start vaping. It isn’t risk-free, and there’s no good reason to pick up a nicotine habit you didn’t have. UK law makes it illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, and we take that seriously at the till and on the website.

Honest about what we don’t know

Vaping as we know it has only been around since the late 2000s, so the very long-term effects (twenty, thirty, forty years down the line) genuinely aren’t known yet. That’s a legitimate caveat. What we do know is that the chemicals that cause most smoking-related harm aren’t present in regulated UK vapes, and that the short and medium-term risks are far lower than smoking. The NHS, the OHID and Cancer Research UK all agree on that.

If you’re switching from cigarettes, that’s a good decision. If you’re a non-smoker, you don’t need to start.