Medicine
Vaping vs. Smoking: Which Is Riskier?
Quick fact
The primary reason smoking is more harmful than vaping is combustion: burning tobacco generates thousands of chemicals, including at least 70 known carcinogens, whereas vaping heats a liquid to produce an aerosol that contains significantly fewer and lower levels of toxicants.
Why this is interesting
You see someone exhaling a cloud of vapor—it looks nothing like cigarette smoke. But does that mean it’s safer, or are the dangers just invisible?