This narrative review evaluates the types and composition of e-cigarettes, trends in their use across the lifespan (children through adults), and findings from experimental and epidemiologic studies linking e-cigarette exposure to asthma pathogenesis.
A growing body of experimental and epidemiologic evidence implicates e-cigarette use in the pathogenesis of asthma, as well as other respiratory diseases (COPD, lung cancer, interstitial lung disease); approximately 10% of U.S. middle- and high-school students currently report vaping.
As a narrative (not systematic) review, it is subject to selection bias in study inclusion. Causality cannot be established from epidemiologic associations alone, and the long-term effects of newer e-cigarette formulations remain understudied.
Clinicians should routinely screen patients with asthma—especially adolescents—for e-cigarette use and counsel them on its respiratory risks. Prevention messaging should address vaping as a distinct and harmful behavior, separate from conventional cigarette smoking.
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