Juul and COPD Is Vaping with COPD Safe? Does Vaping Cause COPD? Smoking cigarettes has long been proven to cause severe lung damage, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and lung cancer. Over time, cigarette smoke destroys lung tissue, fills airways with tar, E cigarettes disrupt lung function and raise risk of infection Cigarette smoke can reprogram cells in your airways, causing pulmonary disease to hang on after smoking ends