Who Vapes Without Nicotine?

July 03, 2019

woman vaping and holding Velvet Cloud e-liquid

Vaping is most often associated with nicotine consumption, but it doesn't have to be that way. Nicotine isn't required to vape, and many people find they prefer to vape without it. Who's doing this, why would they, and are there any benefits? In this article, we're going to break down everything you need to know about vaping without nicotine.

 

How to Vape Without Nicotine

Most vape juices are sold with a non-nicotine option. If you'd like to reduce your nicotine habit, it's recommended that you taper slowly, rather than jumping straight to nicotine-free juice. When you stop using nicotine cold turkey, it's likely to cause a number of side effects, including headaches, sweating, and nausea. Since e-juice comes in various levels of nicotine content, simply switch to a lower amount every few weeks, until you reach your goal.

 

Why Vape Without Nicotine?

The real question is, why would you want to vape without nicotine? While vaping may have its own risks, it's far healthier than smoking cigarettes. There are many studies showing the harmful effects of nicotine, but the problem with these studies is that they're all looking at the safety of nicotine inhaled through a cigarette- not nicotine on its own, or in a vape. According to Vaping Post, an independent vaping news outlet, nicotine on its own, without the chemicals in traditional cigarettes, isn't harmful to you. As far as safety, there isn't much difference between vaping with nicotine and vaping without nicotine.

The big problem with choosing to vape without nicotine happens if you're already addicted, meaning you were a traditional smoker before. Trying to vape without nicotine could leave you feeling unsatisfied, and lead you right back to cigarettes. Since we know vaping is better for your body than cigarettes, the wiser choice would be to accept vaping with nicotine.

If you aren't a smoker, and you're not addicted to nicotine, but you still want to vape, then vaping without nicotine might be a good option. This would make it less likely that you'll become addicted to vaping, if this is something you'd like to avoid. However, keep in mind that addiction isn't purely physical. It's possible to become mentally addicted to vaping without nicotine. For example, some people crave the hand to mouth action, or the sensation of inhaling and exhaling a steam cloud. This is why using vaping is so effective as a treatment for traditional smokers. It satisfies not only the physical addiction, but the mental and behavioral addiction as well.

 

Benefits of Vaping Without Nicotine

Those who don't use nicotine say the vape juice taste better. It has more of the flavor, and less of the nicotine tingle. But some people, especially former smokers, miss that tingle and find they don't enjoy vaping as much without the nicotine. On the other hand, some nicotine users will occasionally carry non-nicotine e-liquid, because they're more able to enjoy the flavor. 

It may also be less addictive to vape without nicotine. Watch out though- as mentioned before, you can become addicted to the behavior of vaping.

 man sitting in chair vaping

Who Vapes Without Nicotine?

Former smokers sometimes choose to break the nicotine habit by working their way down from high nicotine to lower levels, until they no longer need it.

Some people have never been smokers of traditional cigarettes, but enjoy vaping. These types may start without nicotine because they don't feel like they need it. This group may include people who like to vape socially, those who enjoy making large clouds and doing tricks, or just enjoy the flavor of vape juice. Whatever the reason, nicotine is not required to vape.

 

Teens are Vaping Without Nicotine

Nicotine free vape juices encourage teens to stay away from the addictive substance. Ever since vaping became a fad, lawmakers and parents have been concerned that more teens will become addicted to nicotine through vaping. The former chief of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Tom Frieden, discussed this fear in his forward to the Surgeon General's report, E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. In the report, he stated, "E-Cigarettes are tobacco products that deliver nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and many of today's youth who are using e-cigarettes could become tomorrow's cigarette smokers."

But are these fears accurate? There's no evidence that vaping leads to cigarette use, especially considering the majority of teens choose to vape without nicotine. According to the report National Adolescent Drug Trends in 2018, by the University of Michigan, only 28.5 percent of teens use juice with nicotine when vaping. The report goes on to state this as an alarming statistic that needs our attention, but it fails to consider that the majority, 71.5 percent are choosing to forgo nicotine.

Teens are aware that nicotine is addictive. Despite the common thought that teenagers are reckless, this shows that they do have an interest in staying healthy. If only one-quarter of teens are using vape juice with nicotine, how does that show more teens will grow into smokers? Looking at it logically seems to show the opposite. More teens are vaping without nicotine, which means they're staying away from cigarettes. That's a good thing!

Even the teens that choose to use nicotine in their juice won't necessarily become cigarette smokers. There's a big difference in taste between cigarettes and vaping juice (unless you use the tobacco flavor). Those that start with a sweet flavor and a big cloud, are unlikely to be satisfied with cigarettes. More likely they'd become vapers for life, which may not be a good thing, but it's better than smoking cigarettes.

 

The Breakdown

Many vapers make the decision to forgo nicotine. Usually, this is because they don't want to become addicted, or they're trying to break an addiction. The great thing about vaping is that you have the choice to do what's best for you. At Velvet Cloud, our wide selection of delicious, dessert-flavored Premium High VG E-liquids have varying degrees of nicotine, so you can get what's right for you.