Tobacco Products

What are Cigarettes? 

Cigarettes are still the most commonly used tobacco product in the United States. They are also responsible for the vast majority of all tobacco-related disease and death in the U.S.  

The basic components of most cigarettes are tobacco, chemical additives, a filter, and paper wrapping.  The tobacco is burned and then the smoke is inhaled. People who smoke are exposed to a toxic mix of over 7,000 chemicals, including more than 70 that can cause cancer, when they inhale cigarette smoke.  

What are E-cigarettes? 

E-cigarettes, aka JUULs and vape pens, use a battery to heat up a special liquid into an aerosol that users inhale. It’s not just harmless water vapor. The “e-juice” that fills the cartridges usually contains nicotine (which is extracted from tobacco), propylene glycol, flavorings and other chemicals. Studies have found that even e-cigarettes claiming to be nicotine-free contain trace amounts of nicotine. Additionally, when the e-liquid heats up, more toxic chemicals are formed. 

Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not begun its review of any e-cigarette or its ingredients, nor has FDA issued any standards on the products, e-cigarette composition and effects vary. What researchers do know is that these toxic chemicals and metals have all been found in e-cigarettes:  

  • Nicotine – a highly addictive substance that negatively affects adolescent brain development 
  • Propylene glycol – a common additive in food; also used to make things like antifreeze, paint solvent, and artificial smoke in fog machines 
  • Carcinogens- chemicals known to cause cancer, including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde 
  • Acrolein – a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds, can cause irreversible lung damage 
  • Diacetyl – a chemical linked to a lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans aka “popcorn lung“ 
  • Diethylene glycol – a toxic chemical used in antifreeze that is linked to lung disease 
  • Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, lead 
  • Cadmium – a toxic metal found in traditional cigarettes that causes breathing problems and disease 
  • Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs 

What is Smokeless Tobacco?  

A type of tobacco that is not smoked or burned. It may be used as chewing tobacco or moist snuff, or inhaled through the nose as dry snuff. Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and many harmful, cancer-causing chemicals. Using it can lead to nicotine addiction and can cause cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas. It may also cause heart disease, gum disease, and other health problems. 

What are Cigars? 

A cigar is defined as a roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in a substance that contains tobacco. Cigars differ from cigarettes in that cigarettes are a roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or in a substance that does not contain tobacco. The three major types of cigars sold in the United States are large cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars. In 2023, cigars were the third most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students.13 The availability of flavors in cigars that are prohibited in cigarettes (such as cherry), and the fact that they are commonly sold as a single stick, has raised concerns that these products may be especially appealing to youth. 

What Is Pipe Tobacco? 

Pipe tobacco is generally loose-leaf tobacco burned in a traditional smoking pipe with a bowl. Pipe tobacco is a combustible tobacco product.