We have long been warned of the dangers of aging skin and deep lines from smoking cigarettes, but vapes are also to blame for wrinkly skin and breakouts dermatologists warn.
The biggest vapers of any generation is Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, they are all under the age of 27, yet they appear to be aging faster than millennials, according to social media users.
Lifestyle, diet, environment and stress is thought to be taking a toll on the young generation, according to US researchers.
But vaping could also be held responsible for Gen Z ‘ageing like milk’ as toxic chemicals found in vapes break down the components that keep us looking young, experts say.
Here, MailOnline asks top dermatologists why vaping can add years on to your skin, cause unwanted blemishes and wrinkles.
Do you have vape face? dermatologists say chemicals in vapes can cause breakouts, wrinkles and dehydrated skin
Nicotine is a big culprit when it comes to skin conditions, says Dr Bav Shergill, of the British Association of Dermatologists.
‘Nicotine is the active ingredient, and it is associated with all kinds of skin problems. It is associated with acne, psoriasis and breakouts’, says Dr Shergill.
Particularly vaping has been shown to cause premature aging of the skin.
Nicotine, an addictive substance in tobacco and vapes, can break down the elastic fibres in your skin.
These fibres are what gives your skin some ‘ding’ or some ‘lift-up’, says Dr Shergill.
He said: ‘They get degraded by people who have a lot of nicotine usage.’
Premature aging is caused by the combination of heat, chemicals and reduced blood flow to the skin caused by nicotine, which makes it harder for the body to repair the skin
This degrading can be very noticeable and happen at a young age.
Dr Shergill said: ‘If you get two people, twins for example, and you had one who is a smoker and likes a bit of sunshine, and you look at them at the age of 25 and you can see the difference between them. The aging starts quite early with smoking and sun exposure.’
The skin changes can be seen in someone’s 20s if they are frequent smokers, not in someone’s 40s, he explains.
This premature aging is caused by the combination of heat, chemicals and reduced blood flow to the skin caused by nicotine, which makes it harder for the body to repair the skin, explains Asiya Maula, GP at the medical centre The Health Suite.
The heat from vapes can also cause skin dehydration, leading to a dull and aged appearance, adds Dr Maula.
Dehydrated skin is also an unwanted side-effect of nicotine usage, which can lead to wrinkles because the collagen in the skin starts to degrade.
‘You lose your collagen, which is basically like the stuffing in the mattress, if you get rid of that, the mattress goes saggy and your skin goes saggy’, says Dr Shergill.
He stresses that just because you are vaping doesn’t mean ‘you aren’t taking in things that aren’t toxic’.
‘Yes, there are certain things in cigarette smoke that can damage your skin, but nicotine is a big problem, it is an addictive drug that does have adverse skin affects.’
Smoking in any form that contains nicotine can also cause cancer.
‘It can be associated with oral cancers, lip cancers and there are some reports that say it could be associated with melanoma squamous cell carcinoma’, says Dr Shergill.
These toxic chemicals, including nicotine, can cause ‘thermal damage’ and the body will try and ‘repair itself’ from this damage.
But this process can lead to other skin problems, including blotchy red skin.
That’s because the beginning of a healing response is inflammation.
‘That is how you get extra blood flow to all the right cells to fix you’, says Dr Shergill.
He added: ‘Inflammation can also lead to the production of factors that can damage your collagen and scarring at a micro level.
‘As your body starts to get inflamed it starts to increase the blood supply, so you get blotchy and red.’
Chemicals in vapes stain teeth and make them look more yellow, discoloured and unhealthy
It is also this inflammation which can trigger psoriasis to be aggravated and flare up.
However, it’s not just the skin that gets damaged from vaping, one of the most noticeable effects is the yellowing of teeth.
Chemicals in vapes stain teeth and make them look more yellow, discoloured and unhealthy.
‘This staining not only affects one’s smile but also indicates harm to oral health’, says Dr Maula.
It’s not just the superficial side effects of vaping that concern Dr Maula, but also the ‘unknown long-term, risks which are not yet known’.
Everything you need to know about e-cigarettes
How much nicotine is in an e-cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes, containing various different nicotine levels.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20mg/ml equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britain’s most popular vapes, is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.
How many cigarettes are ‘in’ an e-cigarette?
The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say.
It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.
Experts say for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs equate to ten normal cigarettes.
Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and green gummy bear
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that can’t get washed away.
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.
