E-Cigarettes & Tobacco
E-Cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students.
Youth use of tobacco products in any form is unsafe.
Resources for prevention and quitting
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My Life, My Quit is the free and confidential way to quit smoking or vaping. We are here for you every step of the way. It's YOUR LIFE and we're here to help you live it YOUR WAY.
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For more than 20 years, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has fought to protect children and save lives from the #1 cause of preventable death: tobacco use. Our vision is a future free of the death and disease caused by tobacco.
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The Quitline is here to help you be successful in your quit journey! Our free tobacco cessation program is based on proven strategies that have helped more than 1.5 million people quit tobacco. Our professional quit coaches and online community provide the support you need. Plus, we connect you to resources like nicotine quit medications.
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This webpage provides information for parents to learn more about vaping, and understand its appeal to youth and the risks involved. Resources on this page are also available in Spanish.
safe?
Is any form of tobacco
There is no safe form of tobacco. Staying tobacco free is the best way to protect your health.
There are many forms of tobacco on the market, and people often think some forms are safe and don’t cause health problems. This isn’t true. Tobacco hurts and kills people. In fact, smoking causes about 1 out of every 5 deaths in the United States.
Other tobacco products, like e-cigarettes, hookahs, edibles, heat-not-burn cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco, contain some of the same chemicals as regular combustible cigarettes. It's important to know that even though e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies them as "tobacco products."
What leads
to smoking?
Most people who smoke started smoking when they were teenagers. Those who have friends and/or parents who smoke are more likely to start smoking than those who don’t.
The tobacco industry’s ads, price breaks, and other promotions for its products are a big influence in our society. The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year to create and market ads that show smoking as exciting, glamorous, and safe. Tobacco use is also shown in video games, online, and on TV. And movies showing people smoking are another big influence. Studies show that young people who see smoking in movies are more likely to start smoking.
A newer influence on tobacco use is the e-cigarette and other high-tech, fashionable electronic “vaping” devices. Often wrongly seen as harmless, and easier to get and use then traditional tobacco products, these devices are a way for new users to learn how to inhale and become addicted to nicotine, which can prepare them for smoking.
The Effects
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Cigarette smoking is responsible for about 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S.A. Worldwide, tobacco smoking and secondhand smoke combined cause nearly 7 million deaths per year.
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Smoking, which is the most common cause of lung cancer, is also a leading cause of cancer of the mouth, throat, bladder, pancreas, and kidneys.
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Smoking - including vaping, cigars, and hookah use - is particularly harmful for teens because your body is still growing and changing. Evidence shows that smoking has an impact on nearly ever organ in a person's body.
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Tobacco is a plant grown for its leaves, which are dried and fermented to put in tobacco products. It contains nicotine, an ingredient that can lead to addiction. The younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to become addicted to nicotine. According to the 2014 Surgeon General's Report, nearly 9 out of 10 adult smokers first tried smoking before age 18.
Toolkits and Downloads
Download our tobacco social media toolkit or print materials to help increase awareness about the dangers of tobacco and vaping in your school or workplace.