VOCs are chemicals which are emitted from paint as it dries and even afterwards. However, all chemical emissions from paint are not classified as VOCs (some are exempt as they contribute little to smog) and not all VOCs are equal (some are much more toxic than others). As such, a paint containing a low level of VOCs is not necessarily environmentally friendly. A consumer wanting to determine how “healthy” a certain paint is, needs to look beyond its simple measure of its VOC content.