VAPES or e-cigarettes carry the same risk of lung cancer compared to smoking cigarettes.
Elisna Syahruddin, of the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI), said this during a webinar on Tuesday, according to the Antara news agency.
Elisna is attached to the Department of Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI).
She claimed the exposure to e-cigarette smoke leads to airway irritation and this continuous irritation, including vaping without nicotine, is a risk factor for lung cancer.
"If people are using vapes, phenomena such as 'fogging' will appear around them. This has the same (risk)," she said reiterating smoking is a major risk factor associated with lung cancer.
Cigarettes contain carcinogens, or substances that can cause cancer and while smoking, a person intentionally irritates the airways, Elisna said.
"Prevention is better than cure," she said and urged people to avoid the main risk factors that cause lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in the world after breast cancer, she noted.
It is also responsible for the highest number of deaths globally compared to other types of cancer.
"The prognosis of lung cancer is poor when compared to liver cancer or gastric cancer. Lung cancer is the biggest cause of death in the cancer group," she stressed.
Elisna said survival rate is higher when lung cancer is detected early.
She said that most patients are currently diagnosed at an advanced stage so their chances of survival are very low.