In one word: carcinogens.

There has been a general misconception that smoking an e-cigarette means that you are only inhaling nicotine and water vapor. This misconception is what e-cigarette companies want us to believe. They want us to believe that smoking an e-cigarette is safe. They want us to believe that their e-cigarettes do not contain any of the toxins found in traditional cigarettes. They want us to believe that this is the better alternative to cigarettes. However, that is simply not true.

The e-cigarette industry remains largely unregulated, and the long-term, physical effects of e-cigarette use remain unknown. Recently, a study by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found that some e-cigarette products emit higher levels of cancer-causing gases than what is permissible under California law.

Studies have also shown that e-cigarette products contain high levels of formaldehyde, a gas typically used for glues and particle board, and acetaldehyde, a gas used to make perfume. Both of these byproducts are known cancer-causing gases. This means that you are unfortunately inhaling much more than nicotine and water vapor when you use an e-cigarette, despite what the e-cigarette industry wants us to believe.

The truth is that e-cigarettes are nothing more than an alternative, but certainly not a better. Some might try to argue that these are “safer” than smoking cigarettes; however, the term “safer” is clearly subject to interpretation, and is being used loosely by the e-cigarette industry.