Doctor explains secret danger of vaping as number of people who vape without smoking hits one million
Over one million people in the UK have developed a vaping habit without ever having smoked before, and a doctor has warned that they're still harming their health.
While vapes are a healthier alternative to cigarettes they were originally supposed to substitute the more harmful activity for a less harmful one without sending the smoker crashing into nicotine withdrawal.
However, a growing number of people are part of the group who have never smoked in their life but managed to get hooked on nicotine through vaping anyway.
Researchers found that in 2024 almost a million adults in England belonged to this group, and the latest research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) warned that last year that figure passed the million mark, and it's the 25 to 34 age group that's driving it.
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16.4 percent of this age group vape, and they've overtaken the 16 to 24 group as England's top vapers.
ONS figures indicate it's the second year in a row that more over 16s are vaping than smoking, with around 4.9 million smokers now being leapfrogged by 5.4 million vapers.
The NHS says it's less harmful than smoking and 'one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking', but they warn it's 'not completely harmless' and the long-term health impacts of vaping are still not fully known.
They're also very clear that 'children and non-smokers should never vape', so that's about as explicit as can be that vaping is a tool to quit smoking.
Vaping is meant to be healthier than smoking, but this does not make it healthy, and Doctor Mike Varshavski is among the voices warning about the dangers of vaping.
Dr Mike has gained a significant online following for his health advice videos and he's spoken about the secret danger of vapes for people who don't smoke.
Appearing on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Dr Mike warned that 'many more people can get hooked' on vaping because it 'feels like it's not as harmful' and is an easier habit to hide and can deliver more nicotine.
When asked if vaping was dangerous the doctor bluntly said 'yes', and explained that the issue of vaping was 'it gets people who maybe would have been turned off by smoking to try'.
"The chemicals found inside are really rewarding to the brain, nicotine being a prime example of it, and the more dangerous part of it is with kids who have a developing frontal lobe meaning that the part of their brain that is responsible for complex decision making is not yet fully formed," the doctor warned.
In fact, studies have suggested that exposure to nicotine from an adolescent vaping habit could lead to reduced academic performance and lower impulse control in teenagers.
Speaking further on why this was such a danger, Dr Mike said developing brains were 'incredibly susceptible' to substances people could develop an addiction to.
He warned that getting hooked on substances could change the chemistry of a young mind and insisted that vaping should be kept as 'a way of getting you off of cigarettes' rather than 'a way of introducing you to cigarettes or nicotine'.
The doctor still called vaping 'a good choice' for those coming off cigarettes, but kept the praise there.
Plenty of studies have been launched into the dangers of vaping, and there are people who've managed to put themselves in hospital through vaping.
At the end of the day all you've really got is your health, so look after yourself.
Topics: Vaping, Health, NHS, Mental Health
Joe Harker