E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and also do not contain many of the other harmful chemicals and carcinogens found in traditional cigarettes, such as tar and carbon monoxide which is the primary cause of lung cancer, emphysema, and other lung diseases. Some studies have suggested that e-cigarettes may be less harmful than cigarettes because they do not produce the same harmful chemicals that are created by the burning of tobacco. E-cigarettes come in different nicotine strengths, so users can choose how much nicotine they want to consume. This can be helpful for people who are trying to quit smoking and are using e-cigarettes as a tool to wean themselves off of nicotine. E-cigarettes are available in a wide variety of flavors, which can make them more appealing to some people than traditional cigarettes. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such
When a cigarette is smoked, it releases smoke from both the burning end and the smoke exhaled by the smoker. This smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including at least 70 that are known to cause cancer. These chemicals can be divided into two main groups: mainstream smoke, which is the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker, and sidestream smoke, which is the smoke that comes from the burning end of the cigarette. Mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke are not the same, but both are harmful to health.