First people vaped as a healthier alternative to smoking. Then people smoked nicotine-free vapes as a healthier alternative to vaping. Turns out – according to a new study – even when you remove all the tobacco and nicotine, breathing in flavoured vapour is just not great for you.

There’s been growing consensus among researchers about the health risks of nicotine-containing vapes. Just this week, one 22-year-old man had to undergo a double lung transplant because of his vaping habit. Thirty-nine countries have already banned the sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, and many vapers are now opting for zero-nicotine alternatives.

Unfortunately for the roughly five million vapers in the UK, even 0mg vapes appear to damage the lungs: New research, published in the journal Microvascular Research, has identified a specific protein that nicotine-free vape fluid increases in the lung, causing oxidative stress, inflammation and breakdown of the blood vessels. This is the same kind of damage as might be found in patients with lung injury.