Vaping and E-Cigarettes: Separating Myth From Guidance

E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among US middle and high school students, and nicotine harms the developing brain.

Key takeaways

• Nicotine: most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive
• Brain development: continues until about age 25, and nicotine can harm it
• Most useful single change: Talk openly with teens about vaping and listen to their reasons.
• Commonest mistake: Buying vaping products from informal or online sellers, or THC vapes from unlicensed sources.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What the guidance actually says

These are the numbers the corrections below are measured against.

Where people go wrong

Common beliefs that the figures do not bear out.

• Buying vaping products from informal or online sellers, or THC vapes from unlicensed sources
• Using e-cigarettes and cigarettes together
• Assuming vaping is harmless for young people

What to do instead

• Talk openly with teens about vaping and listen to their reasons
• Use free help to quit, such as 1-800-QUIT-NOW or smokefree.gov
• Ask your doctor about FDA-approved quit-smoking medicines if you are an adult who smokes
• Store e-liquids locked away from children; swallowing them can be poisonous

The part that is genuinely uncertain

Guidance changes, and it changes because evidence does. The figures above reflect current US guidance from the bodies named at the foot of this page; where those bodies revise their position, theirs is the account to follow rather than this one.

Related topics

• Vaping and Teens: What the Evidence Actually Says (Teen Health)
• Smoking and the Heart: What Published Guidance Supports (Heart Health)
• The Evidence on Stopping Smoking, Without the Hype (Preventive Care)
• Smoking and the Lungs: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Respiratory Health)

Where to go next

• What the Guidance Really Says About Vaping and E-Cigarettes
• What Vaping and E-Cigarettes Is, and Why It Matters
• Vaping and E-Cigarettes — the reference entry
• Substance Use: The Complete Guide
• What the Guidance Really Says About Stimulant Use
• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: What Published Guidance Supports

When to speak to a doctor

See your doctor for a cough, chest pain or shortness of breath that does not go away. Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 if a child swallows e-liquid, and 911 if they have a seizure, trouble breathing or are hard to wake.

Where this comes from

• CDC — E-Cigarette Use Among Youth
• FDA — E-Cigarettes, Vapes, and other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)
• National Cancer Institute — Smokefree.gov

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarized or generalized beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to your doctor, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 911.