Frequently Asked Questions
What is an electronic cigarette or e-cigarette?
An electronic cigarette is a handheld battery-powered vaporizer that simulates smoking by providing some of the behavioural aspects of smoking, including the hand-to-mouth action of smoking, but without burning tobacco.
What is vaping?
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol produced by a vaping product, such as an electronic cigarette. Vaping doesn’t require burning like cigarette smoking. The device heats a liquid into a vapour, which then turns into aerosol. This vapour is often flavoured and can contain nicotine.
Vaping devices are usually battery-powered. They may come with removable parts. Vaping products have many names, including:
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mods
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vapes
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sub-ohms
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vape pens
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e-hookahs
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tank systems
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electronic cigarettes / e-cigarettes
They may also be known by various brand names.
What do vaping devices consist of?
Most vaping devices consist of a:
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battery
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mouthpiece
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heating element
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chamber, such as a tank or reservoir to contain a liquid solution
Most vaping devices use electrical power from a battery to heat a liquid solution. The heat causes the solution to become vaporized. The vapour then condenses into an aerosol, which is breathed in by the user through the mouthpiece.
Vaping devices are available in many shapes and sizes. Some are small and look like USB drives or pens, while others are much larger.
There are two kinds of vaping devices:
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open, which means they can be refilled
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closed, which means either the whole product, or the part that holds the vaping substances, can’t be refilled
Will vaping help me quit smoking?
Quitting smoking can be difficult, but it is possible. Vaping products and e-cigarettes deliver nicotine in a less harmful way than smoking cigarettes. These products may reduce health risks for smokers who can't or don't want to quit using nicotine.
While evidence is still emerging, some evidence suggests that using e-cigarettes is linked to improved rates of success.
While quitting cigarettes, you may go through a time when you use both cigarettes and vaping products. Switching from tobacco cigarettes to vaping will reduce your exposure to many toxic and cancer causing chemicals.
What is a hookah?
A Hookah is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for vapourizing and smoking favoured cannabis or tobacco whose vapour or smoke is passed through a water basin before inhalation.
What is a bong?
A bong is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances.
In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus or slide which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole, somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem