E-cigarettes
- E-cigarettes are known by many names such as e-cigarettes, e-cigs, vapes and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
- These products use an “e-liquid” found in pre-filled or refillable cartridges, disposables or pods.
- The liquid is heated to create an aerosol that the user breathes in. The heat can turn some of the chemicals into known cancer-causing chemicals
- The liquid that goes in the e-cigarettes can contain: Nicotine, chemical flavorings, additives such as propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, nicotine salt (nic-salt).
- E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes. They look like regular cigarettes, cigars or pipes, and they may look like pens, flash drives and other everyday items.
- ENDS are a tobacco product because they are designed to deliver nicotine.
- E-cigarettes can also be used with marijuana and other street drugs.
What Happens When You Use an E-cigarette
Each time you take a puff, the liquid moves past a small metal coil. The coil heats up and warms the liquid causing it to come out as an aerosol that looks like cigarette smoke.
E-cigarette Aerosol Contains Chemicals
- The aerosol you breathe in and out is not water vapor. It includes chemical changes from being heated and turned into the aerosol.
- It can also contain pieces of the metal called “whiskers” that may break off the coil during the heating process. It is possible for these whiskers to get lodged into your lungs.
Not a Safe Choice
- E-cigarettes are not safe. E-cigarettes are a tobacco product.
- E-cigarettes can cause many harms to your body such as asthma attacks, seizures, lightheadedness, vomiting, nausea, rapid heart rate, and abnormal heart rhythms.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is starting to regulate ENDS products. This is a slow process.
- The FDA approves some e-cigarette brands to be sold. Even though e-cigarettes have fewer chemicals than cigarettes, they are not safe. “Safer” does not mean safe.
- Private and federally-funded tests found many of the same chemicals in ENDS products that make cigarettes so dangerous.
- Beware of products labeled as “nicotinefree” (0 milligrams). They may actually contain some nicotine.
- Users can be exposed to a significant amount of nicotine. Different brands can deliver the same amount of nicotine as low as 2 packs of cigarettes and as high as 19 packs of cigarettes, depending on the number of puffs in the device.
- Even chemicals that are considered “safe” need to be retested for safety when they are heated and inhaled. Heat produces chemical changes which can be harmful.
- Secondhand aerosol from vaping is not safe. It has many of the same residual chemicals as cigarettes such as heavy metals and nicotine.
E-cigarettes should not be used to quit smoking
- The FDA has not approved e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking.
- If you want to quit smoking, there are FDA-approved medicines that you can use. These medicines have been studied and are proven to help you quit smoking.
E-cigarettes Harm Youth
- ENDS have been shown to lead to nicotine addiction and increased tobacco use among youth.
- Nicotine exposure in an adolescent can cause damage to parts of the brain that are responsible for memory, the ability to think, and emotion.
- ENDS have been linked to harming youths’ lungs. Youth are at risk for chronic (long-term) bronchitis which causes cough, chest congestion, shortness of breath and extra mucus, according to the American Lung Association.
- ENDS and the liquid are sold in kid-friendly flavors.
- There is a risk for severe illness and death if the liquid is swallowed or absorbed into the skin.
- ENDS are popular with young people. The U.S. Surgeon General declared ENDS use as an epidemic. More high school students than adults use ENDS.