Nicotine

You may have heard about nicotine before. But why is nicotine so bad? Nicotine is the addictive chemical in cigarettes and most vapes. Addictive chemicals trick your brain into thinking it’s getting something good. And teens can get hooked on nicotine more easily than adults. Plus, nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, and alcohol! Which means quitting (smoking OR vaping) is hard to do. For teens, it gets worse; nicotine can harm your brain development, which may affect comprehension, critical thinking, attention, learning, and mood. Plus, nicotine raises your blood pressure and increases your heartbeat.

Even scarier, unlike many other products (like foods and drugs), e-cigarettes are not regulated. That means that no one is checking what the companies say is in e-cigarettes or vapes, e-liquid (“e-juice”) or vape pods. Some studies have found that the actual nicotine content in some e-liquids is different than what it says on the label. E-liquid advertised as “nicotine free” has even been found to contain nicotine. Also alarming is that a single JUUL pod contains more nicotine than one pack, or more than 20 regular cigarettes.