For years, the honest answer to “is vaping harmful?” was: we don’t know yet. E-cigarettes were too new, and the diseases they might cause take decades to develop. Health experts assumed vaping was likely harmful — the chemicals, the nicotine, the heated aerosols all pointed that way — but the long-term evidence simply didn’t exist to say so definitively.
That’s changing. Studies are increasingly linking e-cigarette use to cardiovascular damage, reduced lung function, reproductive harm, and erectile dysfunction. We’re not yet at the end of the evidence but we’re far enough in to say the early assumptions were right.
So here’s what you need to know about vaping and what the evidence so far shows when it comes to men’s health.
What is vaping?
E-cigarettes (you might know them as e-cigs, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), vapes, or by their brand names, like Juul) are battery-powered devices that heat up liquid to make a vapour you inhale.
As of 1 July 2024, all vapes and vaping products — regardless of whether they contain nicotine — can only be sold in pharmacies, for the purpose of helping people quit smoking or manage nicotine dependence. It is now illegal for tobacconists, vape shops, and convenience stores to sell any vaping product. Disposable single-use vapes — devices that can’t be recharged or reused — are banned entirely. People under 18 cannot legally purchase vaping products under any circumstances. If you’re vaping outside of a supervised quit-smoking program, you’re likely doing so illegally.
Is vaping harmful to your health?
Yes. A comprehensive review of global evidence on e-cigarettes, commissioned by the Australian Department of Health and the NHMRC, found that vaping is associated with a range of harmful health outcomes. The review — which analysed hundreds of studies published over more than a decade — found evidence linking e-cigarette use to increased cardiovascular risk, lung damage, and nicotine dependence.
An analysis of 65 common liquids used in vapes available in Australia found many contained carcinogenic and other harmful ingredients, including a group of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to lung, bladder, and gastrointestinal cancers.
There was high levels of benzaldehyde – a lung irritant – in 61 of the samples, and a chemical called 2-chlorophenol, which is commonly used in disinfectants and pesticides, was detected in up to 30 samples.
Cancer-causing chemicals in e-cigarette liquids are found in the bodies of people who vape.
Is vaping better for you than smoking tobacco?
Vaping is often marketed as a better alternative to smoking cigarettes. When e-cigarettes are used by smokers instead of conventional cigarettes there is evidence for improvement in individual health. However, many people who use e-cigarettes also smoke cigarettes, and diseases caused by smoking are unlikely to be reduced by e-cigarettes if you continue to smoke.
If you start vaping, you’re three times more likely than non-vapers to take up smoking tobacco later on.
While two out of three long-term smokers in Australia will die from smoking, quitting before 45 years old can reduce your mortality risk close to that of never-smokers but how this might be affected by vaping is not known.
Does vaping help smokers quit?
Quitting smoking can be difficult, so the best option is not to vape or smoke at all. Many people use e-cigs to try and stop smoking, to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked, or to avoid restarting a smoking habit when they quit.
Ex-smokers who use nicotine e-cigarettes are more likely to not smoke than those who use other nicotine replacement options such as patches, gum, lozenges, mouth sprays, inhalators, and intranasal sprays. However, most studies showing this effect have a moderate or high level of bias and more research is needed.
Most published studies of e-cigarettes were funded or otherwise supported by manufacturers of e-cigarettes (including the tobacco industry), which appeared to influence the conclusions.
Key Australian health organisations such as the Australian Medical Association, Cancer Council Australia and the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, say there isn’t enough evidence to promote the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. You may be able to use nicotine e-cigarettes as a last-line tool for quitting smoking but only under medical supervision if your doctor thinks it’s right for you.
Vaping and erectile dysfunction
Men have long been more likely to smoke than women and younger men who have higher psychological stress and are current smokers are more likely to use e-cigarettes. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest nicotine impairs normal erectile function and negatively affects male sexual performance. Erectile dysfunction is twice as common among men who vape every day, compared to those who have never vaped. The bad effects of conventional cigarette smoking on men’s reproductive health are proven but more research on vaping’s impact is needed.
Vaping and male fertility
The reproductive risks of vaping extend beyond erectile dysfunction. Research has found that vaping can reduce semen quality and may have mutagenic effects on sperm, meaning it could affect not just your ability to conceive, but potentially the health of your future children.
The best outcome for your long-term health remains the same as it always has — don’t smoke, don’t vape, and if you currently do either, get support to quit. Your GP is the best place to start.
