The latest research from UNSW has found that vaping is very likely to cause lung cancer and oral cancer, prompting calls for tighter regulation.
Published in Carcinogenesis, the study was led by a UNSW research team and collaborated with multiple Australian universities and hospitals to systematically review global peer-reviewed studies from 2017 to 2025.
The results show that vaping is closely related to precancerous biological changes such as DNA damage, oxidative stress, and tissue inflammation.
Lead Research Professor Bernard Stewart said the combined evidence from clinical monitoring, animal experiments and laboratory studies shows that vaping is very likely to cause lung cancer and oral cancer.
Stewart stated that it would take decades to accumulate sufficient human research data to assess the risks posed by e-cigarettes.
They conducted multiple experiments on lung tumours in mice and laboratory studies on cell damage as well as biological pathway disorders related to cancer
Associate Professor Freddy Sitas said that most people who quit smoking through e-cigarettes eventually fall into a “dual-use-limbo” where they are unable to completely remove either habit.
“What we do know from recent epidemiological evidence from the USA is that those who both vape and smoke are at an additional four-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer,” Professor Sitas said.
E-cigarettes have seen a surge in use by young people in recent years, despite laws being introduced in 2023 to regulate them.