Key Resources on E-Cigarettes and Vaping

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What We Know

• E-cigarettes are not safe for youth.1
• In 2021, over 1.7 million high school students and over 300,000 middle school students nationwide reported current e-cigarette use.2
  
• In the United States, youth are more likely to use e-cigarettes or vapes compared to adults.3
  
• Nicotine is the primary agent in both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and there's nicotine in most flavored e-cigarettes.​ 
• Nicotine is addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s, negatively impacting memory, learning, and attention.1   
  
• Young adults who use e-cigarettes are four times more likely to begin smoking regular cigarettes within 18 months compared to those who do not use e-cigarettes.​4
• E-cigarettes produce a chemical-filled aerosol, not 'harmless' water vapor.1 
• Chemicals in e-cigarette aerosol include nicotine, acetone, and ultrafine particles that should not be inhaled into the lungs.1
• Chemicals are added to e-cigarettes for flavoring. Diacetyl, a chemical detected in many e-cigarettes, can cause severe lung disease when inhaled.5
  
• E-cigarettes are not FDA approved as a quit smoking aid, and there is limited evidence in their effectiveness in helping people who smoke​ to quit.6​

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​References

¹ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General. 2016, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health: Atlanta, GA.​

² Park-Lee, Ren C, Sawdey MD, et al. Notes from the Field: E-Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students-National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021; 70:1387-1389. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7039a4​

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About Electronic Cigarettes. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/-about-e-cigarettes.html

4 Leventhal AM, Strong DR, Kirkpatrick MG, et al. (2015). Association of Electronic Cigarette Use With Initiation of Combustible Tobacco Product Smoking in Early Adolescence. JAMA.314(7):700–707. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.8950

⁵ Allen J.G., Flanigan, S.S., LeBlanc, M., Vallarino, J., MacNaughton, P., Stewart, J.H., & Christiani, D.C. "Flavoring chemicals in e-cigarettes: diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and acetoin in a sample of 51 products, including fruit-, candy-, and cocktail-flavored e-cigarettes." Environmental health perspectives, 124(6), 773. (2016). Available at: <https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/15-10185/>.

⁶ ​Al-Delaimy, W. K., Myers, M. G., Leas, E. C., Strong, D. R., & Hofstetter, C. R. (2015). E-cigarette use in the past and quitting behavior in the future: a population-based study. American journal of public health, 105(6), 1213–1219. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302482