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Vaping dangersThe truth about vapingMake a change
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Vaping dangersThe truth about vapingMake a change
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Welcome to Big Tobacco’s nicotine nightmare.

It’s paradise for the tobacco and nicotine industry. They make money off addicting you – never mind their vapes can contain cancer-causing chemicals like arsenic, lead, and formaldehyde.1234567891011121314

Vaping dangers

See what vaping is doing to your body and brain.21516171819202122232425262728

High dose nicotine vapes can not only addict you faster, they may put you at increased risk for cancer, heart disease, COPD, and stroke.2151617181920212223242526293031323334  

Tap to reveal the health harms
See what vaping is doing to your body and brain.[2][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]
Nicotine permanently damages your brain and can increase anxiety, depression, and mood swings.273536373839
Vaping increases your risk of stroke, making you more likely to die of one at a younger age.25264041
Vaping can irritate gum tissue and contribute to the development of gum disease – and can cause bad breath.424344
Vapes can contain arsenic, lead, and formaldehyde – cancer-causing chemicals.1234567891011121314
Vaping increases the risk of developing respiratory diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and bronchitis.4546
People who vape daily are more likely to have had a heart attack than people who don’t use tobacco.34
Long-term vaping can damage blood vessels, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease.47
Vapes have been linked to bladder cancer.4849
The truth about vaping

What’s lurking inside?

Vapes come with way more baggage than you signed up for.

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A black and white portrait of a young man
CHEMICALS

Would you like arsenic with that?1236

WAKE UP
CHEMICALS

Toxic chemicals in vapes may increase your risk of cancer.

Vapes can contain cancer-causing chemicals like lead, arsenic, and formaldehyde.1234567891011121314 Even secondhand vape aerosol releases heavy metals like chromium, nickel, manganese, and lead, putting friends and family at risk.8505152535455555657

Vapes are toxic in more ways than one
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HARM

Nicotine and vaping wreak havoc on your health.

WAKE UP
HARM

Your body and brain pay the price, sometimes forever.

Nicotine is a poison that can magnify depression and anxiety and permanently change the way connections form in the brain.273536373839 That’s not all: People who vape have higher risk of dying younger from stroke.25264041 Not exactly the vibe.

See more ways that nicotine affects the brain

Vaping can increase the risk of deadly diseases.21516171819202122232425263031323334 Spread the word to help protect your friends and loved ones.

“

I caught my son trying to hit my vape. He’s like a little me. He does everything that I do. That was it. I had to quit.”

Isaiah — Los Angeles
“

Vaping makes me feel more anxious and like I’m always looking for something more.”

Gen Z Californian
“

As a kid I was told vaping was a safer alternative. I don’t believe it’s safer now.”

Gen Z Californian
MAKE A CHANGE

Is your college tobacco- and nicotine-free yet?

The California Youth Advocacy Network’s College Program partners with students and faculty to eliminate tobacco and nicotine harms in college communities.

Help your campus go tobacco- and nicotine-free
MAKE A CHANGE

Work with policymakers to create nicotine-free campuses.

Campuses Organized and United for Good Health (COUGH) is a statewide student-led coalition that promotes healthier California colleges through tobacco- and nicotine-free policy and advocacy work. Join the COUGH Student Leadership Board and help make a difference.

Apply by May 25, 2025
QUIT NICOTINE

Outsmart nicotine with the EX Program and find a quit that sticks

Get free, 24/7 support through daily text messages full of tips and advice, a resource library with expert guidance, and access to an active community of quitters.

Quit now
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Get more facts

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Pop quiz

The harm caused by vaping nicotine affects:

Layla, Galia, Lizzy

Who we are

A California without Big Tobacco isn’t just possible – it’s already happening. Together, we’re undoing the tobacco industry’s epidemic. As a program of the California Department of Public Health, UNDO is one of the nation’s leading public health programs – fighting to end Big Tobacco’s deadly epidemic in California.

Learn more about our mission

Learn more about the tobacco industry’s damage

The tobacco industry currently spends billions each year on slick marketing tactics and political influence so they can profit off death and disease.5960
Learn more
Even for people who don’t use tobacco, there can be deadly consequences.61
Learn more
The industry calls kids their “replacement customers.”62 Big Tobacco sentences them to a lifetime of addiction and disease.
Learn more
This racist and unjust industry has strategically targeted certain communities with deadly products and manipulative messaging.63
Learn more
No one’s safe from the environmental damage and health risks from toxic tobacco waste and its plastic pollution.64656667686970
Learn more
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