It’s Halloween season, which means a few ghost stories, pumpkins on doorsteps and, if you vape, a fair few spooky claims doing the rounds. Some of them are old favourites that just won’t stay buried. Others are brand new, and the Vaping Products Duty has given us a fresh one to deal with.
So we’ve gone looking for the myths that come up most often and checked each one against the people who actually know, namely the NHS, ASH and Cochrane. Some of them turn out to be pure fiction. A couple have a grain of truth in them, and we’ll tell you where.
Myth 1: Prices are going to skyrocket because of VPD
The reality: Half true, and the half that isn’t matters.
Vaping Products Duty has been live since 1 October. HMRC states that it’s a flat £2.20 per 10ml of liquid, with 20% VAT charged on top of the duty, which works out at about £2.64 extra per 10ml.
But it’s a fixed amount, not a percentage of what you pay, and that changes how it feels. A flat £2.64 per 10ml is a bigger jump on a cheap bottle than on a pricey one, which is why you’ll see very different percentages quoted depending on the product. Red Label at £4.99, for example, would see roughly a 53% rise if the duty were added straight on. That sounds terrifying until you look at it as £2.64 on a single 10ml bottle.
Myth 2: Vaping is just as bad as smoking
The reality: This is the big one, and it’s simply not true.
The NHS says plainly that vaping isn’t risk free, but it is less harmful than smoking. A 2022 expert review it points to found that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking. Cigarettes release thousands of chemicals, up to 70 of which can cause cancer, while tar and carbon monoxide aren’t present in vape aerosol.
What makes this myth especially sticky is how many people believe it. ASH’s 2026 figures show that 54% of adults in Great Britain think vaping is as harmful as smoking, or worse. That’s a lot of smokers being told, in effect, that there’s no point switching.
To be fair to the cautious voices, the long-term effects of vaping aren’t fully known yet. That’s why the NHS says non-smokers should never start. But for an adult smoker, the choice isn’t between vaping and perfect health. It’s between vaping and carrying on with cigarettes.
Myth 3: Vaping gives you popcorn lung
The reality: The most dramatic claim on the list, and one of the easiest to lay to rest.
Popcorn lung, properly called bronchiolitis obliterans, is rare. It was first found in factory workers exposed to diacetyl, a flavouring used in microwave popcorn. The NHS points out that diacetyl is actually found in cigarette smoke, and that it’s banned as an ingredient in UK-regulated vapes.
As of the time of writing, there have been 0 confirmed cases of popcorn lung in the UK.
Myth 4: Nicotine causes cancer
The reality: Nicotine is addictive, but it isn’t what does the damage.
The NHS says: Nicotine is highly addictive, but it contains no toxic chemicals, and most of the harm from smoking comes from the other substances in cigarettes. It doesn’t cause cancer, lung disease, heart disease or stroke, and it’s used safely in medicines like nicotine patches and gum.
That’s not the same as saying it’s harmless to everyone. It’s addictive, it isn’t for non-smokers, and it’s not suitable for young people. But blaming nicotine for the harm of smoking misses the real culprit. The damage comes from the burning.
Myth 5: Vaping is just swapping one addiction for another
The reality: It’s a fair worry, but the NHS says no.
Vapes do contain nicotine, so you’re not leaving that behind on day one. But because they don’t burn tobacco, they expose you to far fewer toxins, and at lower levels. And once you’re ready, the NHS notes you can gradually reduce your nicotine strength and how often you vape until you’re nicotine free.
There’s a related worry we hear a lot too. “I’m vaping more often than I ever smoked, is that bad?” The NHS says no. A puff of vapour carries a small fraction of the risk of a puff on a cigarette, and nicotine reaches the brain more slowly from a vape, so people naturally take more frequent hits. Use your vape as much as you need to stay off cigarettes.
Myth 6: Vapes don’t actually help you quit
The reality: The evidence says otherwise, with one honest caveat.
The Cochrane review of electronic cigarettes for stopping smoking found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes increase quit rates compared with nicotine replacement therapy like patches and gum. In its figures, that works out at around four more people quitting for every 100 who try.
The NHS goes further, describing nicotine vapes as among the most effective stop smoking products, and says almost two thirds of people who use a vape with support from their local Stop Smoking Service successfully quit. ASH’s 2026 data backs up the real-world picture, with 58% of people who quit smoking in the last five years saying they used a vape.
Now the caveat. Cochrane is clear that longer, larger trials are needed to fully understand the long-term safety of vaping. And the thing that worries clinicians most is dual use, smoking and vaping at the same time with no plan to stop the cigarettes. The aim should be to switch completely.
Myth 7: All vapes are the same, wherever you buy them
The reality: This is the one that really can bite.
In the UK, nicotine vaping products are tightly regulated for safety and quality. According to the NHS, every product has to be notified to the MHRA with all of its ingredients listed, and it advises buying from a reputable supplier so your product is covered by those rules.
Illegal products skip all of that. There’s no guarantee about what’s in them, who made them, or whether they meet the limits that protect you. Trading Standards in England seized around 1.19 million illegal vapes in 2023/24, which gives you a sense of how much of this is out there.
Conclusion
Most of what's scary about vaping turns out to be more rumour than reality. The risks that are real, like nicotine addiction and the unknowns around long-term use, are worth taking seriously. But for someone trying to leave cigarettes behind, the evidence points in a much friendlier direction than the ghost stories suggest.
As for the vape tax, the duty is real, but the panic isn't needed.