It’s now established that vaping is a lot safer than cigarettes. However, smokers who are thinking about trying out vaping may ask this question at one point—”Is it safe to vape without nicotine?”
After all, if they’re thinking of quitting tobacco, it means they want to wean themselves off the nicotine that makes tobacco addictive in the first place. Most of the time, people are worried about nicotine, especially with its dangers that are often exaggerated in the media and online.
But if eliquid with nicotine is safe to vape, then zero-nicotine eliquid should be safe as well, right? Let’s look into it for ourselves.
WHY WOULD YOU WANT ZERO-NICOTINE ELIQUID?
Some would want to vape eliquids that don’t contain nicotine for a number of reasons. For instance, they’re good for casual and recreational vapers who don’t want to get addicted to nicotine or feel that head rush.
Also, some countries restrict the maximum amount of nicotine allowed in eliquid. The EU restricts it at 20mg per ml, while it’s actually illegal to procure eliquid containing any amount of nicotine. Of course, the nicotine levels in commercially-available eliquid are nowhere near harmful enough to be toxic to the human body.
But with that in mind, zero-nicotine eliquid may be more available in certain countries where nicotine is restricted or prohibited. And of course, people working to quit nicotine can definitely benefit from zero-nicotine eliquids.
BENEFITS OF ZERO-NICOTINE ELIQUID
NON-ADDICTIVE
In eliquids containing nicotine, the common ingredients are propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, water, flavoring, and nicotine. Among them, it’s nicotine that’s habit-forming, while the other components are known to be not so. Therefore, by using eliquid that does not contain nicotine, the user won’t get addicted.
NON-TOXIC
As mentioned, nicotine can be toxic in high amounts. After all, it’s produced by the tobacco plant as a defense mechanism against bugs and other critters that may want to eat it.
While the nicotine levels in commercially-available eliquids are nowhere near any amount that would make it toxic, it can yield side effects like dizziness, headaches, palpitations, and so on when you vape it too much in one sitting.
Also, with zero-nicotine eliquids, there’s less worry of your bottles being within reach of children. The nicotine in eliquid can be very toxic to kids, so you’ll be more careful and on edge when you have some in the house. Nonetheless, eliquid should be stored securely.
SMOOTHER EXPERIENCE
Eliquids containing nicotine tend to give a “throat hit'' similar to smoking. For some people, this is a pleasurable sensation that makes them like vaping. However, there are plenty of people who may not be into it. Also, some vapers may start feeling that it’s too much, so they’d seek reduced nicotine levels.
Zero-nicotine eliquids does not have that problem. Perhaps those with a mostly PG base may still give a hint of throat hit, but not to the extent of nicotine-laden eliquids. This makes for a smoother vaping experience.
CLEARANCE PRICES
A great thing about zero-nicotine eliquids is that they tend to be plentiful in supply. After all, most vapers are likely vaping eliquid with nicotine, so less people are buying those without it. That results in zero-nicotine eliquids being sold with discounts to get them out the door faster.
They’re already cheaper for not containing nicotine to begin with, so you can get them for rock bottom prices during sales.
WHY YOU WOULDN’T WANT ZERO-NICOTINE VAPING
IT’S NOT ZERO RISK
Different people may react differently to vaping. If you’re really worried about risk, then the best choice is to not vape at all. It’s indeed less risky to vape zero-nicotine eliquid instead, but it must be done with discretion and safety in mind.
VAPING ISN’T THAT COOL
This is a controversial statement to make, especially in a vaping article. But if you’re getting into vaping to do tricks or just to look cool, you won’t get much out of it.
Vaping tricks can get old pretty fast unless you were a smoker who did tricks to begin with, in which case you should get into vaping to quit tobacco anyway.
If you’re getting into it just because you think it’s cool, it may not be the best idea, especially if you’re still young. As mentioned in the previous item, it’s better not to start.
Vaping won’t make you look cooler. But if you really want to get into it, just know that zero-nicotine vaping is a viable option. At least you won’t get addicted to nicotine.
IT MIGHT MAKE YOU VAPE MORE
With that said, since vaping zero-nicotine eliquid shouldn’t give you headaches, you may end up vaping a lot, especially if your juice happens to be delicious.
If you’re a former smoker who got into zero-nicotine eliquid to quit without tapering down first, you’ll find yourself vaping a lot more to satisfy your craving.
While you’re vaping eliquid without any nicotine, you may still feel the effects of vaping from the juice alone, like drying your throat. Take breaks and drink water.
POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS OF VAPING ZERO-NICOTINE ELIQUID
While the long-term effects of vaping eliquid is still mostly unknown, we do know of the short-term effects. Be wary that if you’re getting into vaping for reasons other than quitting tobacco, you have to be aware of what vaping can possibly do to your body.
Vaping nicotine-free eliquid can cause irritation and trigger an immune response that may yield inflammation. It’s different for everyone—while it may be harmless for one person, it may be quite bad for someone else.
CONCLUSION
Our stance with vaping is that it should only be picked up by people who are looking to quit tobacco and do it as a harm reduction strategy. We don’t encourage people who never consumed tobacco products in their life to get into vaping. If you never have, don’t start.
Zero-nicotine vaping is a great way for a recovering tobacco addict to graduate from 3mg nicotine eliquids, thus completing the journey of quitting nicotine while still being able to enjoy flavors.