Vaping Devices Explained: Parts, Liquid and Labels

Picture a pen-sized gadget with a button and a small window for liquid, and you have the basic idea of an e-cigarette. Nobody lights anything. The device heats a liquid, and the user breathes in what comes off it. Health Canada’s definition says the same in one sentence: vaping means using an electronic device to heat a liquid into an aerosol that is inhaled.

What the device is made of

Canadian law looks at a vaping product as three kinds of thing. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act covers the device that produces the aerosol, any part used with it, and the liquid (the Act calls it a substance or mixture of substances) made for use in those devices. Cannabis and tobacco products are excluded from that definition.

In plain terms, you have:

• A battery. Health Canada lists vaping products among the products powered by lithium-ion batteries.
• A heating element. This is the piece that turns liquid into aerosol. Health Canada notes that as it ages, metal contaminants such as nickel and lead may get into the aerosol.
• The liquid. It sits in a refillable tank or a prefilled container, depending on the product.

Some products are sold ready to use and others are filled by hand. The law treats both as vaping products.

What is in the liquid

Health Canada says vaping liquids typically contain nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and flavouring chemicals. There is no tobacco in them. That is why people sometimes call vaping “tobacco-free,” although nicotine itself is the part that makes the product habit-forming.

Heat changes the picture. At high temperatures, propylene glycol and glycerol break apart into carbonyl compounds, including acrolein, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. So the aerosol is a different mixture from the liquid in the bottle, and Health Canada says it can expose users to chemicals that can be harmful. The aerosol toxicity guide goes through the figures.

Reading what is printed on the package

A legal product sold in Canada carries a label you can check in a few seconds. Health Canada says it must show:

1. ingredients, in English and French
2. the nicotine concentration
3. toxicity information with a hazard symbol, plus a nicotine health warning

The package also has a vaping excise stamp. If a product has no stamp, or its label is in one language, or the strength is missing, treat that as a warning sign. The number on the label has a ceiling of 20 mg/mL, and our nicotine strength guide explains how to read it.

Keeping a device safe at home

Most accidents with vapes involve liquid or batteries. Health Canada’s advice is practical:

• Store liquid and devices out of sight and reach of children and pets, somewhere the liquid cannot be mistaken for food, a drink or medicine. Child-resistant packaging helps, but Health Canada points out that child-resistant does not mean child-proof.
• Do not modify the device and do not charge it for longer than recommended.
• Keep spare batteries in a protective case, away from coins and keys.
• Look for a device certified to ANSI/CAN/UL 8139.

When a device is finished, it should not go in the garbage. See how to dispose of vapes and batteries.

How common vaping is

Statistics Canada reports that 5.9% of adults had used an e-cigarette or vaping device in the past 30 days in 2025, the same share as in 2024. Daily smokers were 7.2% of adults that year. So vaping is a minority habit, though large enough that the rules around it matter to a lot of people.

Where to go next

How the law treats these products depends on where you live, since provinces set their own age limits and flavour rules. The vaping laws guide compares them. If your question is about health, start with what Canadian health bodies say about risks and benefits.