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Smoking/Vaping Combo Poses Health Risks

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 17, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 17, 2025 -- People might think they can reduce their risk of cancer by occasionally swapping their cigarettes for a vape pen — but they would be wrong, a new study says.

So-called “dual users” — folks who both smoke and vape – are exposed to the same levels of nicotine and cancer-causing toxins as those who only smoke cigarettes, researchers reported in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

“In the U.S., dual-use of combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes is the most common multiple tobacco-use behavior. Some individuals try to cut back on cigarettes or work toward quitting cigarettes this way,” lead researcher Zheng (Ashley) Xue, a senior associate scientist of tobacco control research at the American Cancer Society, said in a news release.

“However, our results highlight that dual-use is not an effective way to safeguard health and more evidence that tobacco use is harmful,” she added.

For the study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 2,700 adults participating in a federal study of the long-term effects of tobacco use.

Results showed that dual-users and cigarette smokers had higher levels of a tobacco-specific nitrosamine — an organic substance that is a probable cause of cancer — than people who exclusively vaped.

Dual-users also had higher levels of three volatile organic compounds that have been linked to cancer, the study said.

“Clinicians and public health practitioners should increase awareness that dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is not safe and may present similar risks as continuing to smoke cigarettes, especially if one does not reduce the number of cigarettes smoked,” Xue said.

The results indicate that smokers would be better off by entering a tobacco cessation program and taking medications that can help wean a person off nicotine addiction, said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

"These fact-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs are critical to help those addicted to quit and prevent anyone, especially youth, from ever starting,” Lacasse said in a news release.

“Additionally, the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] must use the full weight of its authority to regulate all tobacco products, including removing the thousands of illegal products on the market that have not been shown to benefit the public health,” she added.

The findings were published April 15.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted April 2025

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