What’s an E-Cigarette?
Image Credit: Dr. Gideon St. Helen, University of California-San Francisco
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, come in all different shapes and sizes. Some e-cigarettes are made to look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some resemble pens, USB sticks, and other everyday items.
E-Liquid/E-Juice
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Image Credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products
Vapor vs. Aerosol
The clouds made by e-cigarettes are not vapor. A vapor is a chemical that has evaporated. An aerosol is a mixture of liquid particles suspended in a gas and can contain many chemicals. Instead of just mixing with the air like a vapor, aerosols can leave drops behind.
What’s in E-Cigarette Aerosol?
The e-cigarette aerosol that users breather from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances:
Image Credit: Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
It is difficult for consumers to know what e-cigarette products contain. For example, some e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.
Image Credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
What are the health effects of using e-cigarettes?
Scientists are still learning about the long-term effects of e-cigarettes. Here is what we know now.
Image Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Thirdhand Smoke
Although it is not yet known whether secondhand smoke from e-cigarette/vape pen devices is harmful, there is evidence to show that thirdhand smoke is dangerous to others.
Thirdhand smoke is chemicals in e-cigarette/vape pen aerosol that remain on surfaces and in dust, even after the aerosol is gone, and react with other chemicals in the environment to form toxic chemicals.
These potentially harmful chemicals can be exposed to other people or animals through the respiratory system, through ingestions, and through skin exposure.
Small children are especially at risk for thirdhand smoke exposure because they tend to put things into their mouths and they have more vulnerable skin.
Are e-cigarettes less harmful than regular cigarettes?
Image Credit: Truth Initiative
E-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than the deadly mix of 7,000 chemicals in smoke from regular cigarettes. However, e-cigarette aerosol is not harmless. It can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine,heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds,and cancer-causing agents.
Video Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Can e-cigarettes help adults quit smoking?
Image Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
However, e-cigarettes may help non-pregnant adult smokers if used as a complete substitute for all cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products. To date, the few studies on the issue are mixed. Quitting smoking completely, including e-cigarettes, is the best way to protect your health.
Learn more:
E-cigarettes: Facts, Stats and Regulations (Truth Initiative)