Vaping may ‘wake up’ cancer cells and trigger wave of disease in a decade

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We don’t know for certain that vaping won’t cause lung cancer ten years from now.” open image in gallery Researchers are concerned that vaping can cause inflammation which leads to cancer Researchers at the FCI conducted studies to understand why some of those diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK – around one in eight patients – are non-smokers, despite smoking being one of the leading causes for the disease. Their findings suggests that irritants such as air pollution cause inflammation, which is then followed by a healing process that “wakes up” dormant cells that can cause cancerous mutations and researchers worry that vaping may trigger the same process. Professor Swanton said: “The mechanism we’ve identified could help us to find better ways to prevent and treat lung cancer in never smokers. If we can stop cells from growing in response to air pollution, we can reduce the risk of lung cancer.” Dr William Hill, another researcher at the FCI, said: “Finding ways to block or reduce inflammation caused by air pollution would go a long way to reducing the risk of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.”