Swapping cigarettes for vapes doesn't help your lung cancer risk as much as quitting entirely

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-06-08 19:00

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People who use e-cigarettes after quitting smoking see a smaller drop in their lung cancer risk compared to those who quit entirely, according to international research. Using data from a Korean health study, the researchers monitored lung cancer cases among 4.5 million adults with a history of smoking cigarettes between 2012 and 2023. Comparing those who quit smoking entirely with those who quit cigarettes but began vaping, the researchers say those who vaped had a higher risk of developing lung cancer and twice the risk of lung cancer-related death. They conclude that while quitting cigarettes reduces the risk of lung cancer, using vaping as a means to do so may reduce the benefits.

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Journal/
conference: Nature Medicine

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Seoul National University College of Medicine, South Korea

Funder: Y.W.K. discloses support for the research of this work from the National R&D Program for Cancer Control through the National Cancer Center (NCC) funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number HA23C0252). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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