FYI
What’s in
your e-liquid?
Considering the huge number of different e-liquids out there
with almost limitless flavours to choose from, the actual
ingredients which make up e-liquid are very few indeed.
In fact, many people who are new to vaping are often surprised
to find that there is nothing complex or mysterious about
e-liquid at all.
It is so simple that virtually anyone could do it but that does not
mean that anyone could actually make an e-liquid which also
tastes good too.
E-liquid, also known as juice or e-juice, is the fluid which is
rapidly heated to provide the vapour that is inhaled from an
e-cigarette.
The amount of vapour that is produced can depend on the
device being used to atomise the liquid and also on the
particular composition of the liquid itself.
E-liquids usually contain some or all of the following four
ingredients:
•
•
•
•
Propylene Glycol (often abbreviated to PG)
Vegetable Glycerin (often abbreviated to VG)
Flavouring (natural and/or artificial)
Nicotine
The first two ingredients are both bases into which the nicotine
and flavourings are dissolved and which produces a smoke-like
vapour when heated. Note that it is vapour (and not smoke)
which is produced because, unlike a traditional cigarette, nothing
is burned in the e-cigarette to produce actual smoke.
Both liquid bases are commonly used food additives which are
also used in a number of pharmaceutical formulations.
For example propylene glycol can be found in asthma inhalers
and nebulisers and it is widely used for delivering atomised
medication because of its water-retaining properties.
Propylene Glycol is non toxic and is on the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) list.
Vegetable Glycerin is a clear, odourless liquid produced from
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plant oils, typically palm oil, soy, or coconut oil. It is a sweet,
thick, vegetable based liquid which is non toxic.
Many household products, including lotions, shampoo, and
toothpaste, contain vegetable glycerin.
If an e-liquid was made from a 100 per cent VG base it would
be very thick and hard to smoke effectively which is why most
e-liquids use a combination of both PG and VG as the base
ingredient.
Sometimes a small amount of de-ionised water is added to
the VG to thin it out and in which case it is known as aqueous
glycerin (AG).
There are many hundreds, if not thousands of different flavours
to choose from when it comes to e-liquid.
There are many different tobacco or menthol flavours and also a
large number of e-liquids where the flavour comes from adding
traditional food flavourings.
This can be anything from the more traditional flavours such as
vanilla or coffee to a whole host of weird, wonderful and exotic
flavour combinations.
Different people will favour different flavours and flavour
combinations; some people stick to the same flavour or
flavours while others like to experiment with a wide range of
different tastes.
E-liquids can come either with or without nicotine which is highly
toxic and very addictive. For those liquids that contain nicotine
then it is available in different strengths. The strength of the
nicotine (usually shown in milligrams of nicotine per millilitre of
liquid) is usually printed on the label of the container that the
e-liquid comes in.
Generally the higher the nicotine content, the stronger the throat
hit, which is the sensation the user experiences at the back of
the throat upon inhalation from their e-cigarette device.