Heated Tobacco Products, Cigarettes, and E Cigarettes: What's the Difference PMI Science Many people believe that vaping is less harmful than smoking, but that's a common misconception. In fact, in addition to nicotine, vapes can contain toxic chemicals that could be linked to cancer, 80.8% people believe that vapes are less harmful than cigarettes VAPE HK E cigarettes contain hazardous substances, addictive and harmful 2.3% of US population reports current e cigarette use