Fears vaping could cause Cancer

Vaping can trigger cell changes which may go onto cause cancer, a shock study suggests.

Similar DNA changes were seen in cells taken from mouth swabs of smokers and e-cigarette users, indicating the latter is 'not as harmless as originally thought'.

Experts claimed it adds to growing evidence that long-term use of the devices may cause significant damage to health.

The warning comes as the Government today introduces a Bill to Parliament that will ban the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes and combat the scourge of childhood vaping.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will raise the age of tobacco sale by one year every year so that anyone turning 15 this year or younger will never legally be sold cigarettes.

It will also introduce new powers to restrict vape flavours and packaging intentionally marketed at children.

This could change how vapes, which contain nicotine, are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from other products such as sweets.

Figures show that one in five children has tried vaping despite it being illegal for under-18s, while the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years.

However, critics have warned that measures to curb vaping could inadvertently push people towards smoking instead.

In the first study of its kind to investigate effects of vaping on different types of cells, researchers from University College London and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, analysed more than 3,500 samples.

They found epithelial cells — which typically line organs and are often where cancer starts — in the mouth showed substantial granular changes in smokers.

Crucially, similar changes were observed in the cells of e-cigarette users who had smoked fewer than 100 tobacco cigarettes in their lives.

Dr Chiara Herzog, first author of the study, said: 'While the scientific consensus is that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco, we cannot assume they are completely safe to use and it is important to explore their potential long-term risks and links to cancer.

'We cannot say that e-cigarettes cause cancer based on our study.

'But we do observe e-cigarette users exhibit some similar epigenetic changes in buccal cells as smokers, and these changes are associated with future lung cancer development in smokers.'

Researchers looked at the epigenome — an extra layer of information superimposed on our genetic material, or DNA.

This changes throughout people's lives and can be affected by genetic or nongenetic factors including aging, lifestyles, chemicals and even stress and psychological trauma.

Scientists say that by studying this, it can allow them to 'look back' and see how the body has responded to previous environmental exposures such as smoking or vaping.

This could also be used to help predict future health and disease, they suggest.

Computer analysis of mouth swabs showed substantial epigenomic changes in smokers but also in those using e-cigarettes, according to the findings published in the Cancer Research journal.

Professor Martin Widschwendter, senior author of the study, said: 'Changes that are observed in lung cancer tissue can also be measured in cheek cells from smokers who have not (yet) developed a cancer.

'Importantly, our research points to the fact that e-cigarette users exhibit the same changes, and these devices might not be as harmless as originally thought.'

The latest findings add to growing concerns over the relative unknown risks of vaping.

Previous studies found vapers experienced a similar pattern of changes within their genes as smokers, although the changes are more extensive in people who smoke.

When the normal regulation of genes is disrupted it can interfere to gene function, leading to disease.

Researchers now hope to further investigate how these changes picked up on cheek swabs could be used for identifying individuals at highest risk of developing cancer in future.

Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK's executive director of policy, said: 'Decades of research has proven the link between smoking and cancer.

'And studies have so far shown that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking and can help people quit.

'This paper does however highlight that e-cigarettes are not risk-free, and so we need additional studies to uncover their potential longer-term impacts on human health.'

Commenting on the findings, George Laking, director of the Centre for Cancer Research, University of Auckland, said they should be viewed with caution, adding that the development of cancer 'is a multi-step process'.

'It's important to highlight there were other changes in the cells of smokers that weren't seen in e-cigarette users or non-smokers,' he said.

'Overall, this paper should not change the basic public health messages of "Vaping to Quit". 

'Vaping remains an essential tool for harm reduction compared to cigarettes.

'The question with harm reduction is always 'by how much is the harm reduced?' Although that is a question a lot of people are working on (including all the people who vape!), it is not a question this study can answer.'

It comes as the Government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill is set to be introduced to Parliament.

The Bill aims to tackle youth vaping, by introducing new powers to restrict vape flavours and packaging intentionally marketed at children.

This could change how vapes, which contain nicotine, are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from other products such as sweets.

Figures show that one in five children has tried vaping despite it being illegal for under-18s, while the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years.

Other powers in the Bill mean enforcement officers will be able to give £100 on-the-spot fines to clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products.

This is in addition to the maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose.

It will also be illegal for retailers to give free samples of vapes to under-18s.

Separately, the Government has committed to ban disposable vapes from April 2025 under environmental laws.

Health campaigners have repeatedly said that offering disposables for 'pocket money prices' encourages children to take up vaping.

Figures also show disposable vapes are the e-cigarette of choice among youngsters, with purchases mostly made from corner shops.

The Bill will also effectively ban the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes by raising the age of tobacco sale by one year every year with the aim of stopping today's youngsters from ever taking up smoking.

Government figures show that smoking costs the UK around £17billion a year, including £10billion every year through lost productivity alone.

It says this cost dwarfs the £10billion raised through taxes on tobacco products.

If the Bill passes, ministers say smoking rates among those aged 14-30 could be near zero by 2040.

Some Tory MPs have expressed concerns about the plans, with former prime minister Liz Truss saying they are 'profoundly unconservative'.

Earlier, this year, she said: 'A Conservative government should not be seeking to extend the nanny state. It only gives succour to those who wish to curtail freedom.'

But Labour has given backing to the move, which is subject to a free vote in Parliament.

Under the changes, smoking itself will not be criminalised and anyone who can legally buy tobacco now will not be prevented from doing so.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said: 'If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death: smoking.

'That is why, alongside new measures to curb the alarming rise in youth vaping, we are delivering on our commitment to create a smoke-free generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products.

'This important change will save thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS, freeing up new resource than can be spent to improve outcomes patients right across the UK.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'Smoking kills. It takes around 80,000 lives in the UK every year and causes one in four cancer-related deaths.

'It's therefore only right we take robust action to protect future generations from these harmful products.

'Today is a significant milestone, representing the single biggest preventable health policy in a generation with a first-of-its-kind Bill aimed at preventing our children and young people from falling prey to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.'

England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said: 'Smoking causes harm across the life course. This includes stillbirth, asthma, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 15 different types of cancer, stroke and dementia.

'If passed this will be a major public health measure which reduce illness, disability, and premature deaths for children today and future generations.'

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: 'The groundbreaking legislation put before Parliament today sets a course to the extinction of smoking in the UK.

'Every day, 350 young adults aged between 18 and 25 start smoking regularly, risking a lifetime of addiction, disease, disability and premature death.

'Smoking is the silent killer that hides in plain sight, killing more people than Covid at the height of the pandemic. Ending this scourge on society cannot come soon enough.'

Simon Clark, director of the smokers' rights group Forest, said the Government has no mandate to ban the sale of tobacco to future generations of adults.

He added: 'No-one wants children to smoke, but the idea that Government should take away people's freedom to choose long after they have grown up is absurd.

'Instead of rushing this vanity project through Parliament, the Prime Minister should include the policy in the Tories' election manifesto and let the people decide.'

E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour — which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and other chemicals. 

Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon — two of the most dangerous elements.

Although widely viewed as safer than smoking, the long-term effects of vaping still remain a mystery.

Doctors have expressed fear there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age.

Last year leading paediatricians also warned children were being hospitalised with vaping-induced breathing difficulties amid a 'disturbing' youth vaping epidemic.

NHS figures 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.

MailOnline has previously exposed the predatory tactics of some sweet shops selling capes, including products resembling popular sweet brans like Skittles and Jolly Ranchers.

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