Traditional cigarettes contain thousands of harmful chemicals, tar, and carcinogens. While vaping eliminates many of these toxins, the assumption that zero-nicotine vapes are completely harmless is now being challenged.

If you never smoked before, picking up a vape – even a nicotine-free one – introduces unnecessary risks to your body, according to a recent study.

Researchers compared the effects of nicotine-free vaping to regular vaping and even traditional cigarettes.

But before we share the shocking results, let’s review some basic information about vaping.

What is vaping?

E-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid to create an aerosol (or vapor) that users inhale. Unlike traditional cigarettes, which burn tobacco and release thousands of harmful chemicals, vapes don’t produce smoke or tar – which is why many people assume they’re a safer alternative.

The juice

E-liquid, or vape juice, is made from a mixture of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, both of which create the thick vapor users exhale. While these ingredients are safe to eat, inhaling them is an entirely different story.

When heated, these substances break down into harmful byproducts that can irritate the lungs and airways, potentially leading to:

• Chronic coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Lung inflammation

Yummy flavors

The flavors that make vaping so appealing – whether it’s fruity, minty, or dessert-like – often contain toxic chemicals. Some of these chemicals include:

• Diacetyl: Linked to a serious lung disease known as popcorn lung
• Benzaldehyde: A common flavoring that can irritate the respiratory system
• Heavy metals: Vape coils can release trace amounts of lead, nickel, and tin into the vapor

Even without nicotine, inhaling these substances over time can cause lung damage and inflammation.

“You’re exposing yourself to all kinds of chemicals that we don’t yet understand and that are probably not safe,” Dr. Michael Blaha told John Hopkins Medicine.

Popular habit

The popularity of vaping is rising, with “more than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2021, with more than 8 in 10 of those youth using flavored e-cigarettes,” according to John Hopkins.

“What I find most concerning about the rise of vaping is that people who would’ve never smoked otherwise, especially youth, are taking up the habit,” Blaha said. “It’s one thing if you convert from cigarette smoking to vaping. It’s quite another thing to start up nicotine use with vaping. And, getting hooked on nicotine often leads to using traditional tobacco products down the road.”

Shocking results

Researchers from the 2024 study were curious to know if the base liquids and flavoring chemicals used in vaping could still have negative health effects.

To do this, researchers compared:

• Nicotine-free vapes
• Nicotine-containing vapes
• Traditional cigarettes

Surprisingly, all three had measurable negative effects on blood vessel function, meaning that nicotine isn’t the only culprit when it comes to vaping risks.

Specifically, the study reports that “the decrease in vascular function was most pronounced after inhalation of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, followed by e-cigarettes without nicotine.”

According to researcher Dr. Marianna Nabbout “This study serves to highlight the acute effects smoking and vaping can have on a multitude of vascular beds in the human body.”

More importantly, “If the acute consumption of an e-cigarette can have an effect that is immediately manifested at the level of the vessels, it is conceivable that the chronic use can cause vascular disease.”

If you’ve been vaping because you thought it was a safe alternative to smoking, this new research should give you pause!

What are your thoughts on vaping? Please let us know what you think and then share this story so others will be aware of the health risks linked with vaping!