Vaping vs Smoking: Which One Does More Damage To Your Health?

Anna Ajayi 10:48 - 11 August 2025

vaping-vs-smoking-which-is-worse

Is vaping actually safer than smoking?

For years, smokers searching for a “healthier” option have turned to e-cigarettes and vapes, hoping to ditch the dangers of tobacco.

But as research continues, one thing is becoming clearer: neither option is safe, and both carry real health risks.

What’s The Difference Between Vaping And Smoking?

what’s-the-difference-between-vaping-and-smoking

Smoking involves burning tobacco and inhaling the smoke, which contains nicotine and thousands of harmful chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer.

Vaping, on the other hand, involves heating a liquid (e-liquid or vape juice) to create a vapour, which is then inhaled. These e-liquids usually contain nicotine, flavourings, and other chemicals.

While vaping doesn’t produce tar or carbon monoxide like traditional cigarettes, that doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

SEE THIS: 5 lies we've been told about smoking cigarettes

What Happens to Your Body When You Smoke a Cigarette?

Immediate Effects

Just minutes after lighting up, nicotine reaches your brain, causing a “nicotine high” that can increase alertness but also trigger a rapid spike in heart rate and blood pressure.

Long-Term Effects of Smoking

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of preventable death around the world. It has been linked to lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic bronchitis, emphysema (COPD), and stroke.
Tobacco smoke damages nearly every organ in the body and significantly shortens life expectancy.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco kills more than 7 million people every year, including over 1.3 million non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.

What Happens When You Vape?

Vape devices heat a liquid mixture that typically contains:

Nicotine
Propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin (PG/VG)
Flavourings
Trace amounts of heavy metals like nickel, tin, or lead

Short-Term Effects Of Vaping

Some users report a dry throat, coughing, dizziness, and headaches after vaping. These symptoms can occur even in people who’ve never smoked before.

Emerging Research On Long-Term Risks

Because vaping is relatively new, its full long-term health effects are still unknown. However, early studies point to:

Lung injuries like EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury)
DNA damage and chronic inflammation in lung tissue
Increased risk of nicotine addiction

The Health Risks of Smoking

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of preventable death around the world. It has been linked to lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and even stroke.

Tobacco smoke damages nearly every organ in the body and shortens life expectancy significantly.

The Health Risks of Vaping

Vaping is often mistaken for the "healthier" alternative to cigarettes, but it comes with its own serious health risks that are becoming harder to ignore. According to recent studies:

Vape aerosols can contain toxic substances like heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals.
It can irritate the lungs, trigger asthma attacks, and may lead to a condition called "popcorn lung."
Vaping can increase heart rate and blood pressure, just like cigarettes.

Also, because vaping is relatively new compared to smoking, long-term health effects are still not fully known, but early research is not reassuring.

Vaping vs Smoking: Addiction Risk

Smoking weed may cause erectile dysfunction [AdobeStock]

you-can-get-addicted [AdobeStock]

Nicotine, whether it’s from a cigarette or a vape pen, is addictive. It creates a cycle of dependence, withdrawal, and repeated use. In teens and young adults, nicotine can also affect brain development, impacting attention, learning, and impulse control.

Dr. Bilal Shahid Bangash, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at Bayhealth, says, “The liquid found in e-cigarette and vape cartridges usually contains nicotine.” “Interestingly, devices which claim to be “nicotine free” still contain a small quantity of nicotine", he added.

Vape products, especially those that come in sweet or fruity flavours, are particularly attractive to young people, and that’s a growing public health concern.

With vaping, the addiction risk can actually be higher because:

You can vape almost anywhere and more frequently than you can smoke.
E-liquids often contain high concentrations of nicotine.
Teens are more likely to get addicted to vapes due to appealing flavours and discreet designs.

Misconception: “I can quit vaping anytime.”
In reality, quitting either habit comes with withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, headaches, and intense cravings.

What Are The Laws In Nigeria?

Nigeria has made progress in regulating tobacco products, including smoking bans in public places and restrictions on tobacco advertising. However, vaping laws are still unclear and loosely enforced.

Many young people now use vapes without fully understanding what’s in them or what they’re doing to their bodies. And because they’re easy to hide and come in appealing flavours, vape use is rising fast in Nigerian schools and campuses.

Vaping Or Smoking, Which Is Worse?

vaping-or-smoking-which-is-worse

Both vaping and smoking come with serious risks. But based on current research, smoking is still considered more dangerous, especially due to the high number of cancer-causing substances in tobacco smoke.

That said, vaping is not a safe alternative; it’s just a different kind of risk. And for non-smokers, especially young people, picking up a vape means exposing yourself to addiction and health problems you could have avoided altogether.

If you’re trying to choose between smoking and vaping, the real answer is neither. The best move for your health is to quit both, or better yet, never start.