The electronic cigarette fashion

By 2022, 2.55 million middle and high school students in the US had used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days.

Most e-cigarettes have a battery, a heat-producing element, and a space to hold a liquid and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings (such as diacetyl, which is a chemical linked to serious lung disease), and other potentially harmful chemicals (nickel, tin, and lead), which help produce the aerosol.

Users inhale this aerosol into their lungs, people nearby can also inhale this aerosol when the user exhales it into the air. Called “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vapor pens,” “vapers,” “tank systems,” and “nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS). Some look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, others look like pens, USB drives, or other everyday items. Larger devices, such as tank systems or “mods,” do not look like other tobacco products. The use of these is known as “vaping,” instead of smoking, and they can be used to deliver marijuana and other drugs.

Nicotine is highly addictive, toxic to developing fetuses, and can affect brain development in adolescents and young adults, which continues into their 20s and 25s.

Faulty batteries in e-cigarettes have caused fires and explosions, some of which have caused serious injuries, most of the explosions happened when the batteries were being charged.