The spinMyth 11 of 14
“Vaping causes COPD.”
A 2025 meta-analysis found a link — but in the stronger long-term studies it wasn’t statistically significant, and the authors say past smoking may explain it.
The evidence
Most adults who vape used to smoke. That makes it hard to separate vaping from decades of smoke.
The pooled odds ratio for current vapers was 1.48. But across the five cohort studies that follow people over time, the link was not statistically significant (1.145; confidence interval 0.842–1.557). The same happened when COPD was confirmed with lung-function tests.55
In the authors’ own words, the relationship “might partially reflect the effects of prior or concurrent smoking rather than vaping alone”.55
Questions about your own situation? The AI helper answers from this site.
Why this site exists
Nicotine hooked me. Smoke nearly killed me. Vapour gave me my breath back.
Read my story →