Smoking vs. Vaping: What You Need to Know The Vape Mall Some reports state that these new, flavored smoking devices are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes but how safe is vaping? In this third part of a four part series, China Daily examines the What's REALLY in your cigarette or vape? You're not just inhaling nicotine. Cigarettes contain arsenic, ammonia, and formaldehyde yes, the same stuff used to embalm bodies. Vapes? Heavy metals, toxic chemicals, What's Actually in Your Vape: A Complete Chemical Breakdown