E-cigarettes are electronic devices that heat a liquid and produce an aerosol or mix of small particles in the air.
E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes. Most have a battery, a heating element, and a place to hold a liquid.
Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items. Larger devices such as tank systems, or “mods,” do not look like other tobacco products.
E-cigarettes are known by many different names. They are sometimes called “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vape pens,” “vapes,” “tank systems,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).”
Using an e-cigarette is sometimes called “vaping” or “JUULing.”
Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes.
Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items.
How Do E-cigarettes Work?
E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals that help to make the aerosol.
The liquid used in e-cigarettes often contains nicotine and flavorings. This liquid is sometimes called “e-juice,” “e-liquid,” “vape juice,” or “vape liquid.”
Users inhale e-cigarette aerosol into their lungs. Bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol when the user exhales it into the air.
E-cigarette devices can be used to deliver marijuana and other drugs.
Why Is Nicotine Unsafe for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults?
Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine—the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products.
A recent CDC study found that 99% of the e-cigarettes sold in assessed venues in the United States contained nicotine.
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.
Nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain. The brain keeps developing until about age 25.
Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.
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.
What Is in E-cigarette Aerosol?
E-cigarette aerosol is NOT harmless “water vapor.”
The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including:
Nicotine
Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
Flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease
The aerosol that users inhale and exhale from e-cigarettes can expose both themselves and bystanders to harmful substances.
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.
