A world-leading cancer researcher has issued a stark warning that vaping could be more damaging to health than smoking traditional cigarettes. Dr. William Li, a renowned physician and researcher specializing in cancer and the link between diet and health, made the remarks on the Zoe podcast.
Vaping vs. Smoking: A New Health Concern
According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, around 5.3 million adults in the UK smoked cigarettes in 2024, the lowest proportion since records began in 2011. However, approximately 5.4 million adults used e-cigarettes daily or occasionally in the same year. Many vapers believe the habit is less harmful than smoking, but Dr. Li disagrees.
"Vaping is definitely a cancer risk and it's been well established in the lab. It's being seen in the clinic and arguably the chemicals in these vaping solutions are even more irritating, even more toxic, than traditional tobacco," Dr. Li said. "They're different, but we think that they actually may be even more DNA-mutating. And so, for those people who are like 'Well, vaping's a safer alternative, at least I'm not smoking', you might be doing something even worse for yourself."
Dr. Li emphasized that any form of inhaling toxins—whether from vaping, cigarettes, pipes, or cigars—poses serious risks. "Whether you're talking about vaping or you're talking about cigarettes, pipes, cigars, you're putting in toxins into your lungs," he added.
Other Experts Echo Concerns
Dr. Jeremy London, a board-certified surgeon in general, vascular, and thoracic surgery, also warns against vaping. When asked to rate the harmfulness of various habits on a scale of 1 to 10, he gave vaping a 10. "Although we don't have the data like we do with cigarettes over many, many years, I've personally seen some tragic outcomes in young individuals who vape," he said.
In an interview with Today, Dr. London described smoking as "the single worst thing you can do for yourself" but expressed similar concerns about vaping. Research has shown that adults who regularly use e-cigarettes exhibit worrisome changes in heart and blood vessel function and perform significantly worse on exercise stress tests compared to non-users of nicotine products.
