Switching to E-Cigarettes Did not Prevent His Lung Cancer Death

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid composed of propylene glycol, glycerol, flavourings, and other chemicals which have been known to cause EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury). The vapour contains numerous harmful substances including:

• Aldehydes
• Ultra-fine particles
• Various volatile organic compounds
• Heavy metals

These substances are associated with cancer and angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumours). Many people who use an electronic cigarette believe they are inhaling only harmless water vapour. This is false. The aerosol contains toxic chemicals that can damage lung tissue over time.

The Tobacco Industry has been encouraging cigarette smokers to switch to vaping as an alternative to quitting nicotine completely. The message is often framed as “harm reduction” – a less dangerous alternative to combustible tobacco. However, switching to an e-cigarette does not eliminate risk. It simply trades one set of toxic exposures for another.

A 51-year-old man with type 2 diabetes and hypertension quit smoking cigarettes in 2009 after 10 pack-years of use and switched to vaping. He used his device consistently for the next 11 years. After 11 years of e-cigarette use, he developed an aggressive advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) which caused his death 3 months later.

This timeline is critical:

• 2009: Quit cigarettes, started e-cigarette
• 2020: Developed aggressive lung cancer
• 3 months later: Died from the disease

This type of lung cancer is typically associated with older smokers greater than 60 years of age, and with 40 to 50 pack years of cigarette use. The patient was only 51 years old. His cigarette history was only 10 pack-years – far below the typical range for squamous cell carcinoma. His primary exposure in the 11 years before his cancer diagnosis was his vaping habit.

Although the deceased stopped smoking, he still continued inhaling various chemicals and highly addictive nicotine into his lungs using e-cigarettes. Nicotine is still considered not to be highly carcinogenic on its own, but it causes angiogenesis and promotes the spread of cancer throughout the body – which occurred in this case. The nicotine from his e-cigarette may have accelerated the growth and metastasis of his existing lung cancer.

This report describes a 51-year-old male former cigarette smoker with an 11-year history of e-cigarette use (vaping) presenting with an aggressive squamous cell carcinoma of the lung which was fatal. He died just 3 months after diagnosis. Switching to an e-cigarette did not save his life. It did not prevent his cancer. It simply changed the delivery method of toxic chemicals into his lungs.

For anyone considering an e-cigarette as a “safe” alternative to smoking, this case is a warning. The long-term health effects of vaping are still being discovered. This man’s death is one data point – but it is a tragic one.

References
Farrow-Cypel, B.K., Patel, S., Mandala, N.R., et al., “Aggressive Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma in a Long-Term E-cigarette User with Intracardiac Complications: m A Case Report,. American Journal of Case Reports, 26: e947911, 5pp, 2025