Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery operated products designed to turn nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor. You then inhale the vapor. These products are often made to look like:
- Cigarettes
- Cigars
- Pipes
- Pens
E-Cigarettes may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to humans. Because clinical studies about the safety of e-cigarettes have not been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you have no way of knowing:
- If they are safe
- Which chemicals they contain
- How much nicotine you are inhaling
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance. Additionally, these products may be attractive to kids. Using e-cigarettes may lead kids to try other tobacco products—including conventional cigarettes—which are known to cause disease and lead to premature death.
With e-cigarettes there are many unknowns, including the unknown health effects of long-term use. Currently, there are no e-cigarettes approved by FDA for therapeutic uses so they cannot be recommended as a cessation aid. For smokers who want to quit cigarettes there are FDA approved treatments which have been proved to be safe and to work, including:
- Nicotine gum
- Nicotine skin patches
- Nicotine lozenges
- Nicotine oral inhaled products
- Nicotine nasal spray
- Zyban
- Chantix
Get more information about quitting.
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