As youth vaping surges, U.K. moves to ban disposable e cigarettes STAT Vaping Harmless. Vape aerosol contains toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, arsenic, lead, chromium, and nickel. They damage lungs. They harm developing brains. They raise cancer risks. We About E Cigarettes (Vapes) Smoking and Tobacco Use CDC Vapes Tobacco Stops With Me Researchers Find Toxic Metals in E Cigarette's Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The devices, popular among teens, emit lead, nickel and antimony at concentrations that may exceed cancer and neurological risk thresholds.