Does nicotine or vaping cause acne?

The evidence here is limited and mixed. Smoking has been linked in some studies to a specific type of acne (and clearly to skin ageing), while other studies find no link with inflammatory acne. Nicotine constricts blood vessels and affects healing, which could plausibly affect skin. Vaping is too new for solid acne data.

What's clearer is that nicotine harms skin healing and ageing overall, so it's worth avoiding for skin reasons beyond acne.

What the research says

Evidence is mixed. Some studies (e.g. Schäfer et al., 2001) report an association between smoking and a non-inflammatory comedonal acne, while others find no link with typical inflammatory acne. Nicotine constricts blood vessels and impairs healing, which could plausibly affect skin.

Vaping is too new to have solid acne data either way.

What you can do

• If you vape or smoke, treat quitting as a skin-health win regardless of acne.
• Keep the rest of your routine non-comedogenic while you assess.
• See a dermatologist if breakouts are severe or scarring.

Bottom line

The acne evidence is unclear, but nicotine clearly harms skin healing and ageing — reason enough to quit for skin's sake, regardless of acne.

Vet your skincare too

Diet is only one piece. Many breakouts are driven by what you put on your skin. Paste your products into our comedogenic ingredient checker to rule out pore-clogging ingredients, and check for fungal-acne triggers if your bumps are small and itchy.

Sources & further reading

• Schäfer T, et al. Epidemiology of acne in the general population: smoking. Br J Dermatol. 2001.
• American Academy of Dermatology — acne resources

By Mitchell Zandwijken · Last updated July 2026. See our sources & methodology.