Times Now • 6 min read

WHO Warns Over 100 Million People Are Vaping, Including 15 Million Teens: Know the Health Risks

At least 15 million teenagers across the world are using e-cigarettes, with youngsters on average nine times more likely to vape than adults in countries with data, the World Health Organization has revealed.

In its first global estimate of the use of e-cigarettes, the WHO also said more than 100 million men and women now vape - mostly in high-income countries. The data comes as global intake of tobacco is said to be declining, with the number of tobacco users falling to 1.2 billion in 2024 from 1.38 billion in 2000. According to experts, strict regulations in many countries have helped lower tobacco use, and so, alternative products like vapes are coming up to help offset sales declines. Tobacco companies' vaping is a way to target adult smokers – to help them quit or at least reduce the harm of traditional tobacco. However, experts say e-cigarettes are equally dangerous and are driving a new wave of nicotine addiction. The WHO has warned that at least one in five adults still use tobacco products and has called for stronger enforcement of tobacco control measures and regulation of new nicotine products like vapes.

What is the difference between vaping and smoking cigarettes?

Vaping and smoking both involve inhaling nicotine and other substances into your lungs. E-cigarettes heat liquid to make an aerosol; cigarettes burn tobacco, which creates smoke. Experts say that while vaping is often thought of as safer than cigarette smoking, it does lead to many health problems, too. Both vaping and smoking are addictive and bring potentially dangerous chemicals into your body. The levels of many of these chemicals are higher when you burn tobacco. Vaping has not been around long enough to know what kind of long-term damage it might cause.

What are the dangerous chemicals used in vapes?

Doctors say vaping poses various health risks that can be life-threatening, which include irreversible lung damage, cardiovascular disease, and nicotine addiction. The aerosol or "vapour" produced by e-cigarettes is not harmless water vapor. It contains many harmful chemicals and ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. These include:

Acrolein

It is a herbicide that causes irreversible lung damage.

Diacetyl

It is a food additive that is linked to bronchiolitis obliterans, or popcorn lung, which causes permanent scarring in the lungs' airways.

Formaldehyde and Acetaldehyde

Cancer-causing chemicals that can cause lung and heart disease

Heavy metals

Nickel, tin, and lead can leach from the heating element and be inhaled into the lungs.

Vaping causes severe lung injuries

Inhaling dangerous chemicals can cause permanent inflammation and irritation in your lungs, which can be fatal.

EVALI

EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury, is a severe condition that causes chest pain, breathlessness, and vomiting, and has resulted in thousands of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths.