Vapes with 0 nicotine are almost always going to be a better option than anything that delivers nicotine into your system. Why? Because, as you likely know, nicotine is not only highly addictive — it's also terrible for you!
The National Institutes of Health warn that nicotine increases your risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal problems, harms your immune system, and might even impact your reproductive health.
The understanding that you need to stay away from nicotine is pretty much common knowledge at this point.
But does this mean that all nicotine-free vapes are better for you? Not necessarily. To give you a complete picture, let's do a little investigation to help you make a more informed nicotine-free vaping decision.
At a glance:
Do Non-Nicotine Vapes Have Side Effects?
Non-nicotine vapes don't have any specific side effects that don't apply to vapes in general. In fact, they have fewer potential side effects than standard vapes because you're not introducing nicotine to the equation.
However, that doesn't mean they're free of any potential issues. Here are a few of the more common side effects associated with vapes of all kinds:
Possible Side Effects of Zero-Nicotine Vapes
Coughing or a Scratchy Throat
With most vapes — whether nicotine-free or not — you're inhaling a vaporized ingredient of some kind, so there's always the chance that it could irritate your throat or your lungs and cause excessive coughing or irritation.
Reactions to Dangerous Ingredients
There was a time when many vapes contained extremely dangerous additives like vitamin E acetate and diacetyl (the chemical responsible for the condition known as "popcorn lung").
You won't find them used much anymore, but that doesn't mean you can just blindly trust every vape manufacturer to have your best interests at heart.
Avoid this risk by sticking with manufacturers with a good track record of providing quality products and, of course, by reading ingredient labels!
Reactions to Other Ingredients
An additive doesn't need to be inherently dangerous to everyone to be dangerous to you. Even something widely used, like caffeine, which most people can tolerate in varying doses, can become dangerous if you're sensitive to it or if you surpass the recommended usage guidelines.
Some other popular ingredients you'll often find in zero-nicotine vapes include things like vitamin B12, L-theanine (an amino acid), melatonin and flavorings.
If you're vaping something that contains added ingredients, assume that inhaling them will have the same effect as swallowing a capsule containing them would.
Read labels carefully so you know what you're getting with each puff. Pay attention to the manufacturer's usage guidelines to help ensure you're not at risk of overdoing it.
Non-Nicotine Vapes' Potential Risks
As mentioned above, you shouldn’t incur any additional risks from non-nicotine vapes that you wouldn't face with their nicotine-containing cousins. Here are a few questions you should ask before taking a puff from any vape:
What's the track record of the vape manufacturer?
It can be relatively easy to start a vape or diffuser business. And if you fall prey to a slick marketing campaign, it can be easy to mistake a professional look for a strong market reputation. It's important to do a little research.
When evaluating a vape manufacturer, ask things like, “how long have they been in business?” “How many reviews do they have?” “What is the source of those reviews?” “Is the brand available in third-party stores?” The insights gleaned from all of these inquiries can give you a good indication of how reputable a particular brand is (or isn't).
Is it easy to find an ingredient list?
A manufacturer with nothing to hide will not only make it easy to find out exactly what's in their vape juice, but they'll probably shout it from the rooftops.
Why? Because legitimate vape manufacturers want you to know what's in their products. After all, it's their major selling point!
Look at brands like MELO or HELO. The fact they only contain natural ingredients is a strong selling point. And they make it easy to find a complete list of all ingredients they put into every one of their diffusers.
As a rule, stay far away from anything that includes vitamin E acetate, diacetyl, or propylene glycol.
Is it Safe to Use Nicotine-Free Vape Juice?
Both nicotine-free vape juice and the nicotine-containing variety should be put to similar tests to help you determine if they’re safe. We'll get to some things to look out for in a second.
But first, understand that there's no evidence that vape juice without nicotine is any more or less "risky" than vape juice with other ingredients.
With that said, we talked above about several chemicals that are known to cause health problems — vitamin E acetate, diacetyl, and propylene glycol. If the vape juice you're considering contains any of those constituents, walk away.
What About Nicotine-Free e-Cigarettes? Are they Safe?
Regular tobacco cigarettes are terrible for your health (as you likely know). And vapes or e-cigarettes with nicotine — think of them as electronic nicotine delivery systems — are perhaps not far behind. Both can quickly get you hooked on nicotine, which is an addiction that’s notoriously hard to break.
If nothing else, nicotine-free e-cigarettes probably don't contain any substance that could be addictive — but you should still read their labels to find out. That fact alone should make them safer, but pay attention to the caveats we mention above.
Can a Zero Nicotine Vape Help Me Quit Tobacco or Nicotine Vapes?
Many people have found that vapes without nicotine have helped them quit smoking cigarettes or using vapes that contain that addictive chemical. Nicotine-free vapes help smokers (or nicotine vapers) give up one habit at a time.
Repeated smoking actually creates two "habits," and only one is actually a physiological addiction. In addition to this nicotine addiction, smokers develop an oral fixation habit.
The simple act of repeatedly bringing a device to your mouth, inhaling, and then exhaling, repeated many times per day, eventually creates a psychological need to keep performing this type of motor-neural function.
Since a vape mimics these same physical motions that you make when you smoke cigarettes, nicotine-free vaping can replace the need to perform them with a cigarette.
And since the vape doesn't contain any nicotine, it's not feeding the physical addiction. This combination may make it easier to quit since you're addressing both addictions that you want to break at the same time.
If you combine a nicotine-free vape with gum, lozenges, or nicotine patches, you can, over time, start to wean yourself away from the chemical nicotine addiction, increasing your chances of success even more. Check out our article about the 4 Best Vapes to Quit Smoking for more tips!
Which is the Best Nicotine-Free Vape?
There is no one best non-nicotine vape. But there is a best non-nicotine vape for you. What do we mean by that?
Let's say you're choosing between two zero-nicotine vapes — like MELO and HELO. Which one is better? That depends.
Are you looking for something that will help you relax? If so, MELO will be a better choice for you since it contains melatonin.
Do you need energy instead? Then HELO might be a better match since it contains caffeine.
We picked these two brands because we consistently find them at the top of our roundups of zero nicotine vapes, but the same thing applies to any of the vapes you'll find covered in our articles on things like Best Nicotine-Free Vapes, Best Energy Vapes with No Nicotine, 5 e-Cigarette Alternatives to Help You Quit and Best Inhalers to Stop Smoking.
Before buying anything, you should first decide what you want to get out of the vape, and then choose a brand that promises to deliver those results.
The market offers nicotine-free vapes that contain all types of herbs, supplements, and vitamins, so there's a great chance you'll find one that has the combination you're looking for.
Finally, some vapes can be described simply as "flavored air." These are devices that contain nothing but flavoring — no vitamins, no herbs, no caffeine, no amino acids — nothing.
This type of device can be a good fit for someone who wants to tackle an oral fixation habit, as you might if you're in the process of quitting smoking or giving up vapes with nicotine. Check out our Nicotine-Free Vapes collection[a] and our article on Where to Buy Nicotine-Free Vapes to learn more.
Ready to Give Nicotine-Free Vapes a Try?
First, if you're planning to use zero-nicotine vapes to help you quit smoking or to give up vapes with nicotine, congratulations! Many people have found that these diffusers make quitting easier, and we hope they provide the same assistance for you!
Second, remember what we said about the "best" nicotine-free vape — there isn't one that is the best for everyone. There's only the vape that's best for you.
We think a great place to start is with MELO or HELO since they check all the boxes when it comes to quality ingredients from an established brand, and since you can choose the effect you're after — energy from HELO's caffeine or relaxation from MELO's melatonin.
No matter what vape you choose, we hope it helps you stay nicotine free!
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