Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to claim Friday that vaping is healthier than smoking.
Speaking before the House Education and Workforce Committee, Kennedy tried to peddle some of his classic pseudoscience.
“There’s an argument for vapes,” Kennedy said. “Vapes reduce cigarette tobacco smoking—”
“No sir. That was an argument Juul made, and I’d be happy to have a further conversation,” California Representative Mark DeSaulnier interrupted.
“I’d love to have that conversation,” Kennedy said.
RFK Jr: There’s an argument for vapes. Vapes reduce cigarette smoking
DeSAULNIER: That was the argument Juul made pic.twitter.com/c5FmkDJwx8— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 17, 2026
The Centers for Disease Control’s own website states: “E-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer harmful chemicals than the deadly mix of 7,000 chemicals in smoke from cigarettes. However, this does not make e-cigarettes safe.”
The vape company Juul illegally tried to market its electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, earning it a strong admonishment from the Food and Drug Administration in 2019—another of the many health agencies which Kennedy now oversees.
No federally reviewed vaping product has been found to be less harmful than cigarettes. Studies have shown that vapes and e-cigarettes are just as dangerous—if not more so—than traditional cigarettes, because they can increase the risk of heart disease and limit blood flow to the heart. They also still contain nicotine, which is highly addictive.
While vapes may be considered preferable to cigarettes for adult smokers, that’s not who uses them: Children are, on average, nine times more likely to vape than adults, according to the World Health Organization.
