Are Vitamin Vapes Safe?

You've started vaping vitamins, or you're thinking about giving vitamin vapes a try, and you're wondering: are vitamin vapes safe? The answer is that there's no evidence that vitamin vapes are any more or less safe than any other non-nicotine vape.

But there is some nuance to this answer. And no one here is making health claims. So let's take a deeper look at inhalable vitamins below, and see if we can answer some typical questions people have. Starting with the basics …

Can You Really Vape Vitamins?

Short answer — yes! But just because you can, does that automatically mean you should? Of course not. So let's dive a little deeper …

You don't have to look very hard to find many vitamins (and other supplements) in vape form. The vast majority of "inhaled vitamins" contain things like Vitamin C and Vitamin B12, two extremely popular supplements also sold as tablets, gummies, chewables, etc. And then, of course, you'll also find vapes for other substances like melatonin or caffeine (more on this below).

The appeal of vaping versus, say, a capsule, is that you may benefit from faster absorption and higher bioavailability (the amount of the substance your body can actually use), at least theoretically. See below for why this might be important to you.

Are Some Inhalable Vitamins Safer than Others? Are Vitamin B12 Vapes Safe?

In terms of specific vitamins you can vape, there's no one vitamin (or a few select vitamins) that would be considered safer than another. Vitamin C isn't considered safer than Vitamin B12, for example.

If B12 is one of the vitamins you’re trying to get more of, check out our article on The Best B12 Inhalers. (And as an aside, if you’re hoping to use a B12 vape for instant energy, you might be disappointed. Check out our B12 vs. Caffeine article for more on that. Spoiler: caffeine is way better! Check out our rundown of the best caffeine vapes for 2024.)

There also aren't any specific precautions you need to take when choosing a vitamin-infused vape versus any other kind of vape. So keep in mind the same safety advice you would follow with any other vape — make sure it's free of substances like Diacetyl, Vitamin E Acetate, acetone and acetyl propionyl, all nasty compounds that are associated with a range of health issues.

Diacetyl is a flavoring agent that you often find in food, but when it's vaporized and inhaled it becomes dangerous. It's the compound responsible for a respiratory illness known as "popcorn lung" (because one of the foods that traditionally contained diacetyl was microwaveable popcorn).

Vitamin E acetate, meanwhile, can produce ketene when vaped. At low doses, this highly toxic gas can cause lung damage. At high enough doses, it can cause death.

Vapes like MELO (containing melatonin) and HELO (containing caffeine) go to great lengths to ensure all of their vapes are 100% free of any of these harmful chemicals.

All MELO and HELO vapes are produced in FDA-approved facilities using all-natural ingredients and organic flavorings — Vegetable Glycerin USP, Deionized Water, and Organic Fruit Flavor Extracts (Organic Cane Alcohol and Natural Flavors).

Not all vapes are held to such high standards. So be sure to do your homework and read ingredient lists carefully. To learn more, take a look at our articles, Is MELO Air Vape Bad for You? and What’s the Safest Vape of 2024?

How Much of a Vitamin Does Your Body Actually Get?

With any supplement that you have to swallow, some of the compound is simply going to get lost in your digestive tract. How much depends on many factors, as well as the supplement in question.

Studies have shown that some minerals, like iodine for example, can be absorbed at over 90%. Others, like zinc, may be as low as 30%.

This gets us to the appeal of vaping vitamins. Because vaping turns the vitamin into an aerosol that is directly absorbed into your bloodstream through your lungs, the bioavailability should be higher.

How Quickly Will it be Available?

One of the main drawbacks to traditional methods of taking vitamins is the lag between the time you take it, and the time it actually gets absorbed into your bloodstream. For pills and capsules, this delay might be 30 minutes or longer.

For something like Vitamin C, this really shouldn't make a difference. After all, you don't often need immediate "jolts" of Vitamin C. But for other popular supplements — like melatonin or caffeine — that lag can make a huge difference.

If you're struggling to fall asleep, you don't want to lie in bed staring at the ceiling waiting for melatonin to kick in. Same story with caffeine, but in the opposite direction.

For this reason, it might make sense to choose vaping over other delivery methods for supplements where fast-acting effects are important.

Other Vitamin Vape FAQs

What do vitamin vapes taste like? There's no one answer to this question, because manufacturers will flavor their vapes in different ways.

MELO's melatonin vapes, for example, come in flavors like Cotton Candy, Cosmic Berry, Gummy Bear, Midnight Mint and Bubble Gum. Whichever vitamin vape you're considering most likely comes in a wide variety of flavors as well.

If you don't see one that interests you from one company, chances are another company will make a vape with the same vitamin in different flavors. We’ve compiled a decent list of 12 of the best nicotine-free vapes you can check out for some ideas.

Are there side effects to using vitamin vapes? There haven't been any specific documented side effects associated with vitamin vapes. The side effects you might experience are generally going to be the same that you'd experience with any other non-nicotine vape.

Can I "overdose" on vitamin vapes? As with just about anything, it's possible to get too much of a good thing. If you overdo it and exceed the recommended number of "puffs" or "inhales," you of course run the risk of exposing yourself to some danger, so always read the label for the suggested usage.

These directions will probably include a recommendation for maximum number of puffs per day (or over a 24 hour period), which shouldn't be exceeded.

Are vitamin vapes safe for kids? As we said above, there's no evidence that vitamin vapes are less safe than any other vape. However, most manufacturers won't sell their vapes to anyone under 18, and minors are strictly prohibited from purchasing either MELO or HELO.

Can vitamin vapes replace oral supplements? One of the attractions vitamin vapes have for many is that they don't come in a capsule or pill form that has to be swallowed, which is something many people have a problem doing. As it stands now, there's no evidence that vaping vitamins is markedly better or worse than taking those same vitamins in capsule or pill form.

Take Your Vitamins!

Vitamin vapes appeal to people who want to supplement their diet with extra vitamins, but who, for whatever reason, don't want to take oral supplements. If that's you, we've given you a solid background here to go out and make wiser choices when choosing a vape that fits your needs.

Remember, always read the labels on anything you're buying, and always stick to the recommended dosage. Good luck!