It's Not Just Water Vapour
There’s more to vaping than you think.
Health info for adults
Talk To Kids
One of the best things a parent can do is talk to their kids about vaping and other substances.
Find Help for Mental Health
Find mental health and substance use supports in B.C. with the Wellbeing website.
What's In Your Vape?
Did you know it’s not just harmless vapour?
When you vape, you are inhaling an aerosol that contains various substances. If you are a smoker, vaping is a less harmful option than smoking, but vaping still exposes users to chemicals that can cause lung damage.
All legally sold vapes or vaping liquids in BC contain nicotine.
In addition to nicotine, vaping liquids typically contain glycerol (vegetable glycerin) and propylene glycol, and chemicals used for flavouring. The number of chemical ingredients used in vaping liquids varies. Research by Health Canada detected an average of 22 chemicals and roughly nine flavouring chemicals in Canadian vaping products.
The quantities and number of chemicals from vaped aerosol, which users are exposed to, depend on things like the type of device, temperature setting, vaping liquid ingredients and quality, as well as individual vaping patterns.
The process of heating these substances to produce the vapour may also produce new chemicals, such as formaldehydes. Contaminants such as nickel, tin and aluminum might also get into the products as the heating element ages.
Some of the chemicals and contaminants found in vaping aerosol are associated with negative health effects.
More research is needed to establish the risks of long-term vaping product use on developing cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other diseases.