Dangers of Cigarettes and e-Cigarettes

Still think vaping is OK?

There’s a lot of misinformation in marketing and social media that has led many people to believe that e-cigarettes and vaping are safe. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. And thinking vaping is OK could lead to a lot of problems for your physical and mental health.

Here’s the real story about vaping.

The American Lung Association reports that these toxic chemicals and metals have all been found in e-cigarettes:

Nicotine – a highly addictive substance that negatively affects adolescent brain development. Ninety-nine percent all e-cigarette products contain nicotine, the same addictive drug found in other tobacco products. The brains of youth and young adults are more vulnerable to nicotine’s harmful health effects. These include reduced impulse control, stress, anxiety, depression, other mood disorders, and poor attention and thinking skills.

Propylene glycol – a common additive in food; also used to make things like antifreeze, paint solvent, and artificial smoke in fog machines

Carcinogens- chemicals known to cause cancer, including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde

Acrolein – a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds, can cause irreversible lung damage

Diacetyl – a chemical linked to a lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans aka "popcorn lung"

Diethylene glycol – a toxic chemical used in antifreeze that is linked to lung disease

• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, lead

Cadmium – a toxic metal found in traditional cigarettes that causes breathing problems and disease

Benzene – a volatile organic compound (VOC) found in car exhaust

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
• Some e-cigarette labels do not disclose that they contain nicotine, and some e-cigarettes marketed as containing 0% nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.

• Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed.

• Using nicotine in adolescence may also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs.

Vaping is also harmful to those around you, even if they don’t vape. Both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine have warned about the risks of inhaling secondhand e-cigarette emissions, which are created when an e-cigarette user exhales the chemical cocktail created by e-cigarettes.

Learn more about the risks of e-Cigarettes for teens and young adults on the CDC website and at the American Lung Association.

Ready to quit vaping now? Here are some resources to help.