Vapers experience DNA changes, according to a recent paper published in Nature, and the changes are similar to those seen in smokers – although much less pronounced.
Crucially, this evidence was based on a few people by examining changes in their DNA at the time of the analysis, similar to creating a snapshot image, without considering any potential future change in vaping or smoking behaviour.
The study does not provide real-world evidence of vaping-associated ill health in humans.
Positively, the study attempts to separate the effects of vaping itself from the effects of damage caused by tobacco smoking. This is difficult because most vapers use e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking and so are likely to be ex-smokers.
An important outcome of this analysis, somewhat buried in the paper, is that the damaged genes in smokers was  about 7.4 times higher than in vapers. So what this study finds is what we know already: vaping is not completely risk free but is much less risky than smoking tobacco.
Caitlin Notley – Konstantinos Farsalinos – The Conversation – 2021-12-06.
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