Tobacco & Nicotine

Stylized graphic of vape devices.

Nicotine is a widely used and highly addictive drug found in cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, nicotine pouches, and e‑cigarettes or vapes. It acts quickly on the brain, increasing heart rate and blood pressure while altering mood, attention, and impulse control. For teens, nicotine is especially harmful because the developing brain is more vulnerable to addiction, which can interfere with memory, learning, and emotional regulation. Nicotine use is linked to dependence, heart and blood vessel disease, breathing problems, and a greater likelihood of using alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, especially when use begins at a young age.

Understanding nicotine—regardless of how it is delivered—helps people recognize its risks and make healthy, informed choices.

About Tobacco

  • Smoking and Tobacco Use | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — The CDC’s comprehensive hub for commercial tobacco topics, covering cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke, e-cigarettes/vapes, menthol products, nicotine pouches, health equity, and Surgeon General’s reports on tobacco use in the United States.
  • E-Cigarettes (Vapes) — Health Effects | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Focuses specifically on the health risks of vaping, including nicotine addiction, harm to brain development in youth, dangers during pregnancy, toxic aerosol ingredients, and poisoning risks for young children.
  • E-Cigarettes, Vapes, and Other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) | U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) — Provides regulatory information and consumer safety guidance on all vaping products, including reported safety problems, device hazards, product standards, and links to youth-focused prevention education materials.
  • Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting | National Cancer Institute (NCI) — Summarizes the science on how tobacco smoke causes cancer and disease, documents that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., and outlines the health benefits of quitting at any age.
  • Tobacco as a Cancer Risk Factor | National Cancer Institute (NCI) — Explains tobacco as a cause of numerous cancers and other chronic diseases, with no safe level of use, and connects users to NCI’s smoking quitline and cessation resources.
  • Tobacco Reports and Publications | U.S. Surgeon General / U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) — A gateway to all Surgeon General’s reports on tobacco, including landmark reports on e-cigarettes among youth (2016), preventing youth tobacco use (2012), and the health consequences of smoking over five decades.
  • Vaping Prevention Resources — Educator Hub | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) / FDA — Offers free, science-based lesson plans, student activities, and parent resources on the dangers of vaping nicotine, all mapped to national educational standards and designed for teachers, parents, and teens.
  • DrugFacts: Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes) | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) — Covers what is known about the addictive properties of e-cigarettes, their nicotine and chemical content, and health risks, with a focus on youth and young adults.
  • Tobacco Prevention and Control (TPC) | Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) — Nevada’s official state tobacco control program page, presenting Nevada-specific statistics on tobacco-related deaths and costs, program goals, and links to cessation, youth prevention, and clean indoor air resources.
  • Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-Free Coalition — Resources | Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-Free Coalition — A Nevada-based coalition hub aggregating state and national resources on vaping risks, cessation services, youth prevention programs, and smoke-free policy advocacy for Nevada residents.

Quiting Tobacco

  • Smokefree.gov | National Cancer Institute (NCI) / U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The federal government’s primary quit-smoking platform, offering personalized quit plans, smartphone apps, text messaging programs, and tailored support for women, teens, veterans, and Spanish speakers.
  • Smokefree Teen | National Cancer Institute (NCI) — A dedicated cessation website for teens that addresses quitting vaping and smoking, with age-appropriate tools, quit tips, and a text program (text QUIT to 47848) designed around the realities of adolescent nicotine addiction.
  • How to Quit Smoking | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Provides practical guidance on quitting smoking, including evidence-based options like counseling and FDA-approved medications, links to free resources such as Smokefree.gov and 1-800-QUIT-NOW, and tools from the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign.
  • Smoking Cessation — A Report of the Surgeon General (2020) | U.S. Surgeon General / CDC — The most comprehensive federal review of smoking cessation in 20 years, outlining the health benefits of quitting, evidence-based behavioral and pharmacological treatments, and strategies to expand cessation support nationwide.
  • Nevada Tobacco Cessation Programs | Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) — Nevada’s free, confidential telephone and online cessation coaching service for residents 18 and older; available in English and Spanish at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) or online at nevadatobaccoquitline.com, with specialized programs for pregnant women, people with behavioral health conditions, and young adults ages 18–24.
  • Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-Free Coalition — Cessation | Nevada Tobacco Control and Smoke-Free Coalition — Aggregates Nevada-specific cessation services including the Nevada Tobacco Quitline, the My Life, My Quit teen program (text “Start My Quit” to 855-891-9989), and the “This Is Quitting” anonymous text program for youth who want to quit vaping.
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