Health

Study: Vaping Shows Similar Fitness Effects to Smoking

Is vaping just as damaging to young adults' fitness as smoking or is treating them as equal risks a public health mistake?

Published JUL 14

Study: Vaping Shows Similar Fitness Effects to Smoking

Story

Above: A 12-year-old schoolboy holds a single-use vape in the U.K., on June 24, 2025. Image credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The Facts

A study published Tuesday in ERJ Open Research found that young adults aged 18 to 30 who vape or smoke have approximately 15% lower exercise capacity than those who have never used either product.
ERS Publications
People
The Times (UK)
The study, led by Manchester Metropolitan University, examined 75 people divided equally into three groups: those who had never smoked or vaped, smokers who had never vaped, and vapers who had never smoked.
Manchester Metropolitan University
News Medical
At peak exercise, both vapers and smokers showed lower oxygen uptake and reduced lung efficiency, with lactic acid accumulating more quickly at all exercise levels, resulting in greater breathlessness and leg discomfort.
ERS Publications
Female First
Ultrasound scans and blood tests revealed signs of inflammation and reduced blood vessel function in both vapers and smokers, with flow-mediated dilatation lower in both groups compared to non-users.
ERS Publications
People
Dr. Stamatoula Tsikrika of the European Respiratory Society noted that vapes "can still trigger genetic changes such as DNA damage and inflammation, which are linked to increased lung cancer risk."
News Medical
Medicalxpress
The study's authors said the findings support the U.K.'s Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, which bans vaping for those under 18. The research team plans follow-up MRI studies to examine changes in the heart, lungs and skeletal muscles linked to vaping.
Manchester Metropolitan University
Female First

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Vaping is essentially just as damaging to young adults' fitness as smoking. The U.K. study found both groups suffered a 15% drop in exercise capacity, worse lung efficiency and inflamed blood vessels compared to non-users. These aren't minor side effects, and vapers showed the same reduced oxygen uptake and faster lactic acid buildup as smokers. Treating vapes as a harmless alternative ignores hard physiological evidence.

People

Female First

Narrative B

This study does not prove vaping is as harmful as smoking, and treating the two as equal risks could hurt public health. While young vapers showed reduced fitness compared with non-users, cigarettes remain far more damaging overall, with decades of evidence linking them to diseases like cancer. Overstating vaping harms risks discouraging smokers from switching to a much safer alternative and pushing people back toward the habit that kills millions.