Does vaping affect cardio? Small group studies report lower peak fitness in e-cigarette users than nonusers, without establishing cause.
Image context: The illustrations do not document study participants, diagnoses or the effects of vaping on an individual.
These studies establish neither an individual fitness-loss amount nor a quit-vaping recovery schedule.
The useful distinction is between exercise-test performance, an immediate heart-rate or blood-pressure response, and what happens after someone stops a product. Those are three different outcomes, even when an article calls them all “cardio.”
What human studies show
| Study | What happened | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|
| Simovic et al. 2024: 26 regular e-cigarette users and 16 nonusers, young adults | During maximal exercise testing, the user group had lower mean weight-relative VO2peak: 27.9 versus 32.3 mL/kg/min in the published table. Achieved percentage of predicted maximal heart rate and estimated oxygen extraction were lower; raw heart-rate response and absolute oxygen uptake did not differ significantly. | The groups were observed at one point in time, not randomly assigned. Training history, behavior and other differences could contribute; the study did not follow people after quitting. |
| A 2026 three-group comparison: 25 e-cigarette users, 25 cigarette smokers and 25 never-smoker controls | Active young adult users and smokers had lower peak exercise capacity and altered vascular or ventilatory measures than controls. | This is another group comparison, not proof of cause or a test of whether quitting vaping restores fitness. |
| A 2024 acute-exposure meta-analysis, 9 trials and 370 participants of acute e-cigarette exposures | Nicotine versus nicotine-free exposure increased pooled heart rate and stiffness measures. Flow-mediated dilation did not differ significantly versus cigarettes. | An acute response does not equal a long-term VO2peak change or predict an athlete’s race result. |
| A 2025 12-week switching-trial analysis in people who smoked cigarettes | Among 187 people in a secondary analysis, those who stopped or substantially reduced smoking improved step-test-estimated aerobic capacity; the continued-smoking group did not improve. | The smoking-change groups were defined after randomization to e-cigarettes or heated tobacco. A submaximal step-test estimate is not direct gas-exchange VO2max, and this study gives no vape-cessation recovery timeline. The parent trial was funded by Philip Morris Products S.A. |
Group averages do not predict individual fitness.
A cigarette-switch study does not show vaping is harmless for never-smokers.
Why an immediate heart response is a different finding
Nicotine content, dose, device, timing and prior smoking matter. Comparing with a cigarette is different from comparing with nicotine-free exposure or no product.
A short-term pulse or blood-pressure change does not measure VO2peak, chronic vascular disease or how a particular workout will feel. Keep that acute finding separate from exercise-test comparisons.
Will cardio improve after quitting vaping?
The 2024 comparison had no quit-vaping follow-up; the 2025 trial followed cigarette smokers changing products, not people quitting vaping.
Training, illness, sleep, medicines, prior cigarettes and test method can alter a later score. Universal two-week or one-month recovery claims need studies that actually followed vape quitters.
A practical way to watch your own fitness trend
Choose one comfortable, repeatable activity, such as a familiar level walk, and note its duration, how hard it feels, and any unusual symptoms. Repeating a similar route under similar conditions can help you notice change, but it cannot diagnose a heart or lung problem or attribute a change specifically to vaping.
Do not use a fast stair challenge as a self-diagnosis. Stair time varies with pace, stair height, fitness and health status; it is not a substitute for clinical assessment, especially if exertion causes chest discomfort, faintness or unusual breathlessness.
If you feel well and want to build activity gradually, the walking guide explains how to choose time and effort without a universal mileage rule. Exercise can be valuable regardless of nicotine history, but training should not be presented as a way to cancel out an exposure whose effects are still being studied.
When to seek care or quitting support
Stop exercise and call 911 for chest pain, fainting during exercise or severe unexplained shortness of breath. Seek prompt medical advice for new exercise intolerance, palpitations or a lingering cough rather than drawing a self-test conclusion.
The CDC’s vaping and quitting guide recommends a quit plan and support from a healthcare professional or trained quit coach. It notes that long-term e-cigarette effects remain uncertain and that someone using vaping to move away from cigarettes should also plan for eventually stopping vaping.
Watch the video behind the claim
The original Medical Dialogues news video is retained as topic context. Use the study table above to examine the exercise evidence and its limits.
Sources
- Simovic et al. 2024, e-cigarette users and maximal exercise testing.
- 2026 young-adult e-cigarette, cigarette and control group comparison.
- 2024 randomized-trial meta-analysis of acute e-cigarette cardiovascular responses.
- Spicuzza et al. 2025, smoking-switch trial aerobic-capacity analysis.
- CDC, Vaping and Quitting.
- American Heart Association, emergency warning signs.
- NHS, fainting during exercise.
- NHS, breathlessness and seeking help.
This article is general health information and is not medical advice. Ask a qualified healthcare professional about symptoms, exercise limits or help quitting nicotine.
