The side effects of vaping have been discussed by vapers for a long time. A quick search of the subject on ECF resulted in 207 threads dating back to March 2008 — almost to the time when organized discussion about vaping began — and a total of 374 mentions.
The subject is honestly overdone, and almost every discussion on various forums, every article, or piece of advice on sales sites goes through the same potential side effects. Here’s a spoiler warning: the most common side effects of vaping are caused either by nicotine or dehydration. Other so-called side effects have nothing to do with vaping, but are symptoms of nicotine withdrawal or quitting smoking.
We will also go through these side effects of vaping, but we have also dug up a few additional side effects that may be interesting to you.
What we will not cover are things that have not been proven or cannot be described as side effects — such as unproven risks and dangers of vaping or battery explosions. These side effects are things we know exist, or at least things vapers talk about a lot.
Dehydration as a side effect
You need water to function. Without it, you can suffer from a range of different terrible conditions, from cramps, heatstroke, and seizures to even kidney failure. But before these extreme conditions occur, you will experience some milder symptoms of dehydration.
The milder symptoms are what vapers commonly encounter. This can be explained by the fact that the base in the e-liquid we vape is made of propylene glycol (PG) or vegetable glycerin (VG) — or a combination of the two. PG and VG are hygroscopic. This means that they absorb water.
When you inhale vapor, it does not moisten your mouth, throat, and esophagus. Rather, it draws moisture from your mucous membranes and sends it out in the majestic cloud you exhale. Simply put, vaping dehydrates you. And a dehydrated vaper can suffer from certain problems.
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Dry skin – sometimes with rashes or acne
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Dry mouth
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Dry eyes
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Itchy or sore throat
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Coughing
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Headache
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Nosebleed
I have personally met many vapers who have experienced a combination of these symptoms, and they all offered the same treatment: drink more water. And they are right. Providing the body with water is the only way to counteract the effects of losing fluids. So drink plenty of water, tea, soda, juice, or whatever you like.
Just not beer or coffee! It is true that the moisture in alcoholic drinks hydrates you, but alcohol actually inhibits your body’s ability to retain fluids, so essentially you will not be able to compensate for the fluid you lose by vaping. Caffeine has a different but similar effect. It can make you urinate more often, which can also contribute to dehydration. So if you are heading to a café or bar, take a glass of water with you.
Vaper’s Tongue
This is a well-known condition that is probably linked to dehydration. Vaper’s tongue is usually described like this: “All my liquids taste the same!”
Vaper’s tongue is most likely caused by vaping too much while taking in too little fluid. The mouth and tongue become dry, and the taste buds become dulled.
PG, VG, and sensitivity and allergies to flavorings
Something regularly discussed among vapers is the possibility of an allergy to PG. Although a genuine allergic reaction to PG is possible, what vapers experience is most often the result of mild sensitivity to PG. The symptoms often resemble those of dehydration — and it is actually difficult to distinguish the two from each other.
If a real allergy is suspected, a dermatologist can test for it and provide advice (such as stopping vaping PG). It is truly a fascinating subject in itself, and there are plenty of cases of sensitivity or allergy to PG that have nothing to do with vaping, since flavorings in our favorite vape flavors are also used in almost all food, medicine, and beauty products in the world. In fact, most adults with a genuine allergy to PG would probably have been aware of it long before trying e-cigarettes, simply because PG is so ubiquitous.
Allergies to flavorings can be a much more serious — and potentially even fatal — problem.
Much less common is sensitivity to VG. Genuine allergic reactions to glycerin are extremely rare, and as with PG, it is difficult to imagine that anyone would not have discovered this before starting to vape. Glycerin is used in a wide variety of products, including soap.
But some people — and I am one of them — report that e-liquids with a high VG content cause congestion, breathing difficulties, or thick mucus in the throat. In my case, it is only mucus in the throat, but I experience this side effect only if I vape e-juice with more than 80% VG. So the solution is simple: I vape liquids mixed 50/50 — PG/VG. If you are sensitive to either PG or VG, you can probably avoid the troublesome effects by experimenting with the blend of the liquid you vape.
Allergies to flavorings can be a much more serious — and potentially even fatal — problem. Some e-liquids use flavorings that contain traces of foods such as peanuts, which can cause life-threatening reactions in people who are allergic to them. If you have doubts about a particular e-liquid, you should ask the manufacturer whether the flavorings contain traces of the problematic substance. If you cannot get a clear answer, choose something else.
Side effects of nicotine
Most vapers occasionally experience effects from vaping too much that resemble the effects of nicotine. Since we self-titrate — meaning that we vape nicotine until we get the effect we want and then stop — it can be easy to misjudge, especially if you try e-liquid with a stronger concentration than you are used to, or use a vaporizer that produces more vapor than you are used to.
We do not need to go into the effects of a nicotine overdose here, since it can easily be avoided by not ingesting nicotine in high concentrations. An adult would need to ingest 500 mg or more of nicotine to die, according to Professor Bernd Mayer. But you weren’t planning to do that anyway, were you?
You probably already know the typical effects of vaping too much nicotine:
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Dizziness
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Headache
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Nausea
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Cold sweats
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Insomnia
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Racing heart
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Anxiety
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Tinnitus
If you begin to experience any of these things, stop vaping for a while. They will go away. If you constantly suffer from these side effects, either vape less or reduce your nicotine level.
If you want to read more interesting facts about nicotine, Elekcig has plenty of articles on the subject, including a summary of what we know about this mild stimulant that is so popular.
Avoiding weight gain
A side effect of nicotine that many vapers appreciate is that it can help with losing weight or maintaining weight. It suppresses appetite, and it has been an inconvenient fact in many smokers’ lives that they gain weight when they quit smoking. Some smokers have even continued smoking because of concerns about gaining weight.
But according to researcher Linda Bauld at Stirling University in the UK, vaping may help change that. “People can adjust the nicotine levels in their bodies, so to quit smoking they can start with higher-strength e-liquid and then gradually reduce the strength in a much more sophisticated way than they can with nicotine replacement products, which is probably good for maintaining weight and for losing weight,” she said to The Guardian.
Other positive side effects
Most people vape to avoid smoking. Others have never smoked but like nicotine. Still others vape without nicotine because they like the act of vaping itself. When vapers ask about side effects, they are usually looking for things to avoid or watch out for.
But there are side effects of vaping that are also good. Have you thought about this before?
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Saving money
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Meeting new friends
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Helping others
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Learning things
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Living longer
Since the actual medical side effects of vaping are mostly minor and easy to avoid, perhaps we should focus more on these side effects. After all, they are the reason you continue to vape. And these are probably the things you first think of when you think about how vaping has affected you.
So the next time someone asks you what the side effects of vaping are, tell them what really matters. The biggest side effects of vaping are all good!
