Vaping still puts chemicals into your lungs, just different ones. Especially with all the flavor choices. I wouldn't call it better. Just different. The data stack for vaping is not as deep as smoking, so it appears better today than it probably will in 30-50 years.
Still, I prefer vapers over smokers. The second hand dissipates much quicker and doesn't stink as bad. I attempted to switch to vaping in my smoker days, but it gave me wicked headaches. Maybe vape is better now, but I've already quit smoking.