“I vaped nicotine a lot.”
With those four words, Selena Gomez said out loud what fans have quietly suspected for years. In an Instagram Story video posted on Sunday, 18 October 2026, the 34-year-old singer and actor addressed her vaping habit publicly for the first time, admitting she believes it has permanently changed her voice.
“I’m not going to be able to change my voice. I vaped nicotine a lot,” she said. Then she turned to anyone watching who vapes, or is thinking of starting: “Nicotine is so hard to quit, and I think 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.”
“It’s changed my voice”
The Only Murders in the Building star did not mince words about the habit. She called vaping “so stupid” and said plainly: “It’s changed my voice.”
She also had a blunt message for the critics who comment on how she sounds: “So if you guys don’t like listening to my voice, that’s totally understandable. I don’t mind. Just don’t listen.”
Fans have been asking about changes to her voice for years. Back in December 2025, on an Instagram Live, she answered those questions without mentioning vaping at all, saying her throat “kind of swells inside sometimes.”
“I stopped, and I just hope I can keep it up”
The video was not only a confession. Gomez told fans she has quit, and described how hard it has been.
“I am really excited because I stopped and I just hope I can keep it up. It’s really hard, but know if you are going through something, you can get through it too. It sucks.”
Her honesty lands as encouragement for anyone trying to leave nicotine behind. For practical help, our guide on how to quit vaping breaks the process down step by step.
One important caveat
Gomez lives with lupus, a condition that can cause laryngeal inflammation and affect the voice, and she underwent a kidney transplant in 2017. Her voice changes may have more than one contributing factor, and her story is a personal account, not medical advice. Still, her warning about nicotine deserves to be heard. If your vape has been making you cough more than usual, that is another sign your body is asking for a break.
Source: Selena Gomez’s Instagram Story, 18 October 2026, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.