Zero nicotine vapes are certainly a better and safer choice than vapes that contain nicotine. However … that doesn't mean just because a particular product is a 0 nicotine vape that it can't cause any harm.
Let's dive a little bit deeper to help you make a smarter and healthier decision when it comes to choosing vapes and vape juice without nicotine.
At a glance:
Risks and Side Effects of 0 Nicotine Vapes
What are the Risks?
The same risks associated with vaping overall should be considered when choosing vapes with no nicotine. Before giving a nicotine-free vape a try, ask yourself these questions.
Are they free of known harmful ingredients?
For a long time, some vape manufacturers used a handful of ingredients in their vape pens and vape juice that were later discovered to be extremely harmful. Chemicals like vitamin E acetate, diacetyl and propylene glycol carry known health risks and need to be avoided. Steer clear of any vape you find that lists them among its ingredients.
Are they from a reputable manufacturer?
The explosion in popularity of non-nicotine vapes means that new manufacturers seemingly pop up every day. Obviously not all of them produce a high-quality product, to put it mildly.
We have nothing against entrepreneurship, innovation, or trying new things, but where your health is concerned, you probably don't want to be serving as a guinea pig for a vape company.
Check out our articles on Healthiest Vape Pen, Best Nicotine Free Vape, and Best Vape to Quit Smoking for information on companies that have proven themselves trustworthy. Also check out our article on Where to Buy Nicotine Free Vapes for links to manufacturers’ websites.
Is the manufacturer transparent about what's in their vape juice?
A reputable vape manufacturer will never try to hide or obscure what's inside their product. In general, the same rules that you would apply to food can apply to zero nicotine vapes and zero nicotine vape juice or e-juice — the shorter the ingredient list, the better.
The ingredient list for ARRØ nicotine-free vapes, for example, is as short as can be, because they contain nothing but flavoring. Again, as mentioned above, steer clear of anything containing Vitamin E acetate, diacetyl and propylene glycol.
What are the Potential Side Effects of Nicotine Free Vaping?
Non-nicotine vapes and nicotine-free electronic cigarettes don’t have any specific side effects that wouldn't apply to other types of vapes.
In fact, when compared with vapes containing nicotine, the list of potential side effects is much shorter. A vape with nicotine, for example, can quickly make you dependent on nicotine — which is one heck of an undesirable side effect.
But for nicotine-free vape pens or vape juice, some potential side effects can include:
Throat or Lung Irritation
Even nicotine-free vaping involves inhaling vapor, so it's possible you could irritate your throat or lungs and cause things like coughing or a scratchy throat.
Harmful Effects from "Bad" Ingredients
We covered this above, but this is one of the reasons it's so important to choose your vape brand wisely. One of the chemicals we mentioned above, for example — diacetyl — has been implicated in a disease called Bronchiolitis Obliterans, commonly called "popcorn lung."
Reactions to Vape Juice Additives
Even when a vape doesn't contain nicotine, that doesn't mean it contains absolutely nothing at all. Even non-nicotine vapes will contain flavorings at a minimum. Others might include a hodgepodge of additives to produce a desired effect.
Some additives you might find in nicotine-free vapes include caffeine, melatonin, vitamins like B12 or C, amino acids like L-theanine, and more.
While any of these ingredients on their own has been deemed to generally be safe, if for some reason you react negatively to them, they're obviously not safe for you. If caffeine gives you the jitters or anxiety, for example, stay away from vapes that contain caffeine. Make sure to read the label carefully so you know what's in the vape you're using.
Is Zero Nicotine Vape Juice Safe?
Whether we're talking about nicotine free vape juice or non-nicotine disposables, the same warnings and precautions we mentioned above still apply.
For starters, avoid anything with Vitamin E acetate, diacetyl and propylene glycol.
Next, stick with e juice from trusted manufacturers, and be aware of potential side effects that we mentioned above — namely, throat or lung irritation, or reactions to any "normally safe" ingredients that vape juice may contain.
Beyond these basic precautions, there's no evidence that 0 nicotine vape juice contains any specific dangers that other vapes don't contain, and they may contain fewer, because you're not introducing addictive nicotine to the mix.
Are e-Cigs with No Nicotine Safe?
E-cigarettes that don't contain any nicotine are certainly going to be better for you than their nicotine-containing counterparts like tobacco cigarettes. But as we mentioned above, that doesn't mean they're completely safe either.
You want to avoid the same problem ingredients we discussed above, and be aware of the potential side effects.
Are 0 Nicotine Vapes Good for Quitting Tobacco or Vapes with Nicotine?
Nicotine-free vapes can be a great tool to help you give up smoking cigarettes or vapes with nicotine for a couple of reasons.
First, both cigarettes and nicotine vapes "hook you" in multiple ways. The first, and most obvious, is they lead to nicotine addiction. We don't have the space to go into nicotine's effects here, but see our articles on Low Nicotine Vapes and Vape Alternatives with No Nicotine for more.
Second, they foster an oral fixation habit. The act of bringing a device (or cigarette) to your mouth, inhaling and then exhaling, can quickly become an ingrained habit. And some people who have quit smoking will tell you kicking this habit is just as hard as giving up nicotine.
A zero nicotine vape allows you to give up one habit at a time. It satisfies the oral fixation habit, but helps you break your addiction to nicotine. This may make it easier to quit cigarette smoking. And when you combine non-nicotine vapes with nicotine replacement therapy like gum, patches or lozenges, you could be putting the odds even more in your favor if you want to kick cigarettes.
What's the Best Zero Nicotine Vape?
There's no single "best" nicotine-free vape, but there are probably more than a few that would fit into your plan. When considering which is the best nicotine-free vape for you, there are several factors you can use to evaluate the different brands.
Do you want to replace nicotine with ingredients that have an effect? Or do you prefer a "flavored air" vape?
Non-nicotine vapes are generally going to fall into one of two categories — they'll contain functional ingredients (caffeine, melatonin or Vitamin B12, for example), or they'll contain nothing but flavoring. So they're essentially like inhaling flavored air.
ARRØ is a vape that falls into that second category. It's designed to deliver nothing but a throat hit sensation and mouth-watering flavors.
We've also written about other zero nicotine vapes that fall into the functional category. Our top picks that meet that criteria are HELO, which contains caffeine, and MELO, which contains melatonin.
Congratulations on Giving Up Nicotine!
Replacing cigarettes or nicotine vapes with their non-nicotine cousins isn’t likely to be easy. But they can make it easier. As we mentioned above, our top pick for non-nicotine vapes in the flavored air category is ARRØ.
In the functional vapes category we have two you should check out — HELO, which delivers caffeine, and MELO, which contains melatonin. Any of these three options will give you a solid zero-nicotine vaping experience. Good luck!