E-Cigarettes

Also called: E-Cigs, Electronic Cigarettes, Personal Vaporizer

Summary

E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are battery-operated smoking devices. They often look like cigarettes, but work differently. Using an e-cigarette is called vaping. The user puffs on the mouthpiece of a cartridge. This causes a vaporizer to heat the liquid inside the cartridge. The liquid contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. The heated liquid turns into the vapor that is inhaled.

Some people think that e-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, and that they can be used to help people quit smoking. But not much is known about the health risks of using them, or whether they do help people quit smoking. However we do know about some dangers of e-cigarettes:

They contain nicotine, which is addictive
They contain other potentially harmful chemicals
There is a link between e-cigarette use and tobacco cigarette use in teens
The liquid in e-cigarettes can cause nicotine poisoning if someone drinks, sniffs, or touches it

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Learn More

Beware of Vaping Products with Unproven Health Claims (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
CDC Vital Signs: E-cigarette Ads and Youth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
DrugFacts: Vaping Devices (Electronic Cigarettes) (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Also in Spanish
E-Cigarettes (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)
E-cigarettes and E-hookahs (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
E-Cigs, Menthol, and Dip (National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch)
Electronic Cigarettes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Quick Facts on the Risks of E-Cigarettes for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Risks of Vaping: A Look at Safety (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
Secondhand Smoke and Electronic-Cigarette Aerosols (Environmental Protection Agency)
Teens Using E-cigarettes May Be More Likely to Start Smoking Tobacco (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
Vaping: What Parents Should Know (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

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National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on E-Cigarettes is the National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

Disclaimers

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