What is e-liquid? It looks dangerous
I’ve heard they contain antifreeze!
E-liquid, vape juice or smoke juice is a form of liquid that holds and attracts distilled water around it, nicotine and flavourings are then added to this. When it’s heated by electronic cigarette heating element or atomiser its turns into a fine vapour which looks and feels just like tobacco smoke. The liquid that causes the reaction from liquid to vapour is called a hygroscopic component which means it can attract and keep water from around it in order to create the vapour, the most commonly known components are propylene glycol and vegetable glycol.
To begin with what are these two different compounds and what are they found in?
More importantly what are they found in? This is where things get very interesting.
Propylene Glycol or PG
A very widely used component in a number of everyday products. It’s a clear, odourless liquid and is the most commonly ingredient in e-liquids and is creates the vapour you inhale. PG is found in a vast amount of products including cosmetics, asthma inhalers and gel capsule pills, it is also an ingredient found in anti freeze. This doesn’t mean it is anti freeze, in spite of the controversy that has been raised on the matter.
You will often ingest PG as a food and colouring component that makes the flavours ‘pop’, in e-cigs it is noted for making the flavours more intense and rich, and offering a good amount of throat hit, the sensation you get from inhaling cigarette smoke or in this case vapour. PG can in some cases have effects on people who are sensitive or allergic to it, in which case you should seek out e-liquids with alternative bases such as Vegetable Glycol or VG.
This article here is a very good source of information on PG
“…One of main sources of my scepticism had to do with the fact that one of the main ingredients of the nicotine
e-liquid was propylene glycol or PG.
My initial reaction was of alarm and bemusement at how inhaling a substance containing PG could not be harmful.
Part of the negative conception regarding propylene glycol is yes, it is an ingredient found in antifreeze (…more background on that later). PG though is found in many things we use every day. I could list literally hundreds of them – from prepared foods to cosmetics to fog machines to inhalers for people with asthma, COPD, lung disease and other respiratory ailments. The substance is also found in
IV meds among other thing.
In short, PG is safe for humans to inhale”
-Modern Vapor
http://www.blog.modernvapor.com/tag/e-juice
Vegetable Glycol or VG
VG is often an alternative component to PG in e-cigs, it is less controversial than PG as it is not present in anti freeze, in fact it’s mainly a food additive and very often found in pharmaceuticals, also a clear and sweet tasting liquid VG is very often used as a sugar substitute. In e-liquid some people find it is slightly to PG based liquids, as a thicker liquid it offers more vapour, the trade off is that due to the thickness of the liquid it will shorten the life of your cartomiser compared to PG.
VG e-liquids always carry the VG tag and act as an alternative to PG sensitive users who want the option of vaping open to them, so if you are PG sensitive it’s a good policy to ensure you are using a VG e-liquid. VG is also a cause for thought for those sensitive or allergic to it so it’s a good idea to read up on it further if you think you may be allergic to it.
This is a great post from the e-cigarette forum to read up on if you would like more on Vegetable Glycol or VG:
“… This is the ingredient that produces the smoke like vapour when the e-cigarette is exhaled. Approximately 20% of all e-liquids on the market today are vegetable glycerin based. Vegetable glycerin typically produces more vapour production then propylene glycol, but has reduced throat hit. It is also slightly more viscous (thicker) and slightly sweeter then propylene glycol.
Its increased thickness makes it a culprit in reducing the life of atomizers...”
“…Vegetable glycerin is approved by Health Canada for use in various forms in Canada. Products with Vegetable Glycerin can be found in various common items around your house…”