It’s easy to believe that electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are a safe alternative to smoking. Instead of tobacco, e-cigarettes use battery-powered cartridges filled with flavored liquid that contains nicotine and other chemicals. The e-cigarette’s heating device turns the liquid into vapor, which is why using e-cigarettes is sometimes known as “vaping.”
Some people use e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking. Although they deliver a less toxic dose of nicotine than traditional cigarettes, users are still inhaling a highly addictive substance and other potentially harmful chemicals.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the vapor in e-cigarettes contains carcinogens and toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde; compounds found in car exhaust; and metals that can be inhaled into the lungs, such as nickel, tin and lead.
Kids and Vaping
The misguided belief that e-cigarettes are “safer” than traditional cigarettes has caused them to become popular among children and teens. Because their brains are still growing, kids and young adults are uniquely at risk for long-term effects caused by nicotine exposure.
These risks include:
- Nicotine addiction
- Mood disorders
- Permanent lowering of impulse control
- Harm to the parts of the brain that control attention and learning
In a further effort to end preventable tobacco-related disease and death, the FDA banned the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone 18 and younger and required adults under age 26 to show photo ID to buy them.
While researchers are aware that some of the effects of e-cigarettes are harmful to the body, the long-term effects of e-cigarettes are still unknown. However, it is not safe to assume that this habit is risk-free.
