Overview
- A peer‑reviewed paper in ERJ Open Research compared 75 healthy 18–30‑year‑olds divided into three equal groups and found that young people who vape showed physiological impairments similar to cigarette smokers.
- Vapers and smokers recorded about a 15% lower exercise capacity than never‑users and had large drops in blood‑vessel function, with vapers 42% lower and smokers 44% lower on the vascular measure.
- During stepped cycle tests the vaping and smoking groups had lower oxygen uptake, reduced ability to expel carbon dioxide, earlier lactic‑acid buildup, greater breathlessness, and more intense leg fatigue than never‑users.
- The Manchester‑led team said it will run follow‑up MRI studies to probe the mechanisms in the heart, lungs and skeletal muscle that could explain the observed drop in fitness.
- The results arrive as the UK tightens vape controls, including a disposable‑vape ban and the Tobacco and Vapes Act restricting sales to under‑18s, and add to recent research that has raised questions about long‑term cancer and cardiovascular risks from vaping.