Selena Gomez has said vaping nicotine has changed her voice. In an Instagram story on Sunday, she opened up about her struggle with nicotine addiction. "I'm not gonna be able to change my voice. I vaped nicotine a lot. Nicotine is so hard to quit, and I just wanted to say, if you're going through it, or if you're even trying to vape, it's just not worth it," she said in the post.

"It's so stupid, and it changed my voice. So if you guys don't like listening to my voice, that's totally understandable. I don't mind. Just don't listen to it," Gomez added.

Vaping and its impact on vocal cords explained

Vaping nicotine carries several harmful effects. While smoking and vaping are typically linked with respiratory issues, they are highly damaging to overall health and well-being in many ways.

Vaping nicotine can significantly change the vocal cords and alter your voice. The vocal cords act as the narrow gateway to the lungs, every puff of vapour passes directly through them, altering the environment they need to function properly. Vaping exposes delicate laryngeal tissues to high-heat aerosols, drying agents, and chemical irritants.

"Your voice can be a window to the damage done by vaping long before your lungs are showing visual signs. The vocal cords are thin folds of tissue that vibrate hundreds of times per second to make sound. When they are repeatedly exposed to e-cigarette aerosols that contain nicotine, propylene glycol, flavouring chemicals and other potentially irritating substances, their protective surface can become dry, inflamed and irritated," explains Dr. Aparna H Mahajan, Senior Consultant, ENT, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad.

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How this affects the sound of the voice

"The irritation caused by vaping can interfere with the normal vibration of the vocal cords, resulting in persistent hoarseness, a deeper or raspier voice, vocal fatigue and difficulty reaching higher notes. For singers and professional speakers, small changes can mean a lot," adds Dr. Mahajan.

  • Deeper, Thicker Tone

Enlarged and thickened vocal cords become denser and vibrate at a significantly lower frequency, producing the typical raspy "smoker's voice."

  • Hoarseness and Breathiness

Dry and irritated tissue inhibits the vocal folds from closing entirely, allowing excess air to escape while speaking.

  • Vocal Weariness and Strain

Due to the stiff and swollen vocal folds, more effort from throat muscles is required to produce sound, which can quickly lead to vocal fatigue.

  • Reduction of Vocal Range

For singers or public speakers, the decreased flexibility of tissues directly hinders the capacity to reach high notes or manage pitch variation.

Over time, compelling a damaged, swollen voice to function can result in lasting structural problems, such as the development of vocal nodules, polyps, or cysts.

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Is this damage permanent?

"In many cases, voice changes related to irritation may improve after vaping stops, especially when the exposure has been relatively brief. However, long-term inflammation can lead to long-term voice problems and some physical changes, such as scarring, may not be fully reversible. Crucially, there's a lack of long-term research specifically looking at damage to the vocal cords from vaping."

"No immediate breathing problems doesn't necessarily mean that the vocal cords are safe," concludes Dr. Mahajan.

Selena, who has the chronic autoimmune disease lupus, has previously indicated that the condition was affecting her vocal cords.



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