A new study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal warns that vaping carries a measurable cancer risk and should be treated with caution, particularly when used outside smoking cessation. Led by Professor Ian Shaw of the University of Canterbury, the analysis combines chemical testing of e‑cigarette aerosols with existing toxicological data to assess the carcinogenic potential of substances inhaled by vapers.
The researchers found that heating common vape liquids — mixtures of propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine and flavourings — can produce toxic aldehydes when temperatures approach 190°C. Among these byproducts, formaldehyde and acrolein are singled out for concern. Formaldehyde is classified by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency as a Group 1 carcinogen, and the study reports that some devices and heating conditions generate formaldehyde levels that can rival, and in certain circumstances exceed, those found in cigarette smoke. Acrolein, too, is highlighted as highly toxic with the capacity to damage DNA and proteins, while acetaldehyde appears to pose a lower carcinogenic threat in the vaping context because of the body’s ability to detoxify it more effectively.
Although the paper concludes that vaping is likely less carcinogenic than smoking — because cigarette smoke contains a wider range and higher concentrations of potent carcinogens such as benzo[a]pyrene — it stresses that “less harmful” is not the same as “harmless.” The authors describe vaping as presenting an “unquantifiable cancer risk,” noting the absence of long‑term epidemiological studies that would be needed to produce precise risk estimates. As a consequence, risk assessments must currently rely on laboratory and animal data rather than decades‑long population health outcomes available for tobacco.
The study also flags a critical shift in how e‑cigarettes are used. Originally promoted as tools to help smokers quit, vaping has become a habitual product in its own right, particularly among young people. In New Zealand, where the study was conducted, researchers note that vaping is now more common than smoking among people under 45 and that more than one in five individuals aged 15–24 report regular use. The authors warn that uptake by non‑smokers or adolescents alters the risk‑benefit balance: initiating vaping adds carcinogenic exposure to people who would otherwise likely have avoided it.
Given these findings, the researchers urge a precautionary approach. They support the use of vaping as a smoking‑cessation aid where the benefits may outweigh risks, but find little justification for recreational or non‑cessation use — especially among youth and non‑smokers. The paper calls for tighter controls on products and marketing practices that appeal to adolescents, and for regulators to consider measures that limit exposure to flavourings and device settings that increase toxicant formation.
For Fiji and other Pacific nations, the study provides fresh evidence for policymakers and health officials weighing regulation of e‑cigarettes. While the long‑term cancer burden from vaping remains uncertain, the chemical data and toxicology outlined by Professor Shaw and colleagues strengthen arguments for monitoring youth use, restricting product features linked to higher toxicant emissions, and prioritising research and surveillance to detect possible harms over time.
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