The rise of electronic cigarettes has led many people to ask that very question. While the technology is still very new, researchers have already begun exploring the consequences of vaping on overall health as compared to smoking traditional cigarettes. This preliminary research has indicated that e-cigarette flavorings contain chemicals known to be toxic to the human body—including carcinogens and heavy metals. It will be some time before we can truly understand the long-term health consequences of vaping, but current research suggests that smoking electronic cigarettes is not a harmless habit.

While smoking cigarettes is most commonly associated with lung cancer, smokers are also at increased risk of head, neck, and mouth cancers (among others). When you use smokeless tobacco (sometimes referred to as "dip" or "chew"), you likewise are at risk of developing cancers of the lip, tongue, cheek and esophagus—which can be some of the most disfiguring and deadly cancers out there. 

Regular exposure to secondhand smoke is not that different from being a smoker yourself. You can experience significant health consequences from inhaling the smoke that comes from the end of a pipe or cigarette, or by breathing smoke exhaled by a smoker. In addition to risk for cancers throughout the body, people exposed to secondhand smoke are likelier to get sick more often, get more ear infections, and have respiratory or breathing problems.