What is vaping?

True or false? Vaping is safer than smoking. Misleading | Safer Sacramento Youth

Vaping is inhaling an aerosol (vapor) that is created when a device like an e-cigarette or vape pen heats a liquid containing nicotine, flavoring, and other chemicals.

Vapes contain many different substances:

  • Nicotine 

  • Cancer-causing chemicals

  • Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead

  • Volatile organic compounds

  • Flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease

Is vaping safer than smoking?

Vaping nicotine is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but it is still not safe.

  • Besides nicotine, vape products can contain thousands of additional chemicals that you inhale.

  • Vapes still contain highly addictive nicotine, which impacts the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. 

    • Raises blood pressure

    • Spikes adrenaline → increases heart rate

    • Impacts lung function

    • Can interfere with memory, learning, and attention 

  • Vapes are relatively new, as compared to cigarettes, so we don’t yet fully know all the long-term effects. But, studies link vaping to chronic lung disease and asthma. Traces of nicotine have been found even in e-cigarettes that advertise they’re “nicotine-free.”

Vaping marijuana

Marijuana concentrates can also be used in vaping devices. The concentrates can contain very high THC (the psychoactive substance) levels that may be up to four times stronger than the dried flower of marijuana.

Resources

  • Visit our website

    Do you want to quit Smoking? Vaping? Chewing Tobacco? Nicotine Pouches? Do you have a family member or friend who wants to quit?    

    Kick it California

    •  English:  1-800-300-8086

    •  Spanish:  1-800-600-8191

    •  Chinese:  1-800-838-8917

    •  Korean:  1-800-556-5564

    • ​ Vietnamese:  1-800-778-8440

    Special Off​er: Asian language speakers and callers who live with children 5 and under may be eligible for free nicotine patches, sent directly to their homes. To see if you qualify, visit Kick it California​ for more information.   

    More Resources:

    For a Free Quit Kit, you can call the Sacramento County Tobacco Education & Prevention Program at (916) 875-5869 or request at Free Quit Kit online​.

    Because nicotine - a drug in cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, nicotine patches and most vaping devices - is addictive, quitting tobacco often takes more than willpower. Quitting is easier with help.

  • Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) is a state-funded program in California, meant to reduce tobacco use among young people and educate them about the dangers of tobacco use—including new products aimed directly at them. Through instruction and educational activities, students gain social skills and knowledge that will help them avoid these risks.

  • Kick it California a free program that helps Californians quit tobacco and nicotine with the help of proven, science-based strategies. Take the first step toward quitting.