The U.S. Surgeon General and other public health officials have described the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, by young people as an epidemic. E-cigarettes are electronic devices that heat a liquid (called e-liquid) typically containing nicotine, flavoring, and other chemicals to produce an aerosol that is inhaled by a user. Although nicotine is the most common drug that young people vape, vaping marijuana is also increasing in popularity.

Although the long-term health effects of vaping are not currently known, e-cigarettes do pose a number of risks to young people. First, the use of e-cigarettes serves as a gateway to future combustible cigarette use. Second, because most e-liquid contains nicotine and because the adolescent brain is particularly sensitive to nicotine, the use of e-cigarette products places young people at heightened risk for nicotine dependence. Third, the chemicals contained in e-liquid have never been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for inhalation.