Do vapes and e-cigarettes contain calories?
Many people who are interested in diet, exercise, and health wonder how various everyday habits affect the body. A common question is whether using e-cigarettes and vapes can contribute calories. In this guide, we explain how e-liquid is made up and what is known about calorie content when vaping.
How many calories are in a vape?
E-cigarettes use e-liquid, also called e-juice, which usually consists of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), flavorings, and sometimes nicotine. From a chemical perspective, some of these ingredients contain calories, but it is important to put this into the right context.
- Vegetable glycerin (VG): VG contains energy if consumed orally, approximately 4.3 kcal per gram. When vaping, however, very small amounts are used, and the liquid is vaporized rather than eaten.
- Propylene glycol (PG): PG also has an energy content when consumed orally, but the amount present during vaping is very small.
- Nicotine and flavorings: These components generally do not contribute any significant calorie content.
It is therefore important to distinguish between the theoretical calorie content of a liquid and how it is actually used when vaping.
How many calories are in vape juice flavors?
Flavorings in e-liquids are used in very low concentrations and do not contribute any measurable calorie content. Even if certain flavors imitate sweet or high-calorie foods, this does not mean that the e-liquid contains sugar or energy in the same way as food or drink.
Most flavorings in vape juice are designed to provide flavor, not nutritional content.
Can vaping affect weight through calories?
At present, there is nothing to suggest that using e-cigarettes leads to a significant calorie intake. The amounts of PG and VG that may be inhaled are very small, and vaping does not occur via the digestive system.
Does the body absorb calories when vaping?
When e-liquid is vaporized, the vapor is inhaled through the lungs, which differs from how the body absorbs energy from food and drink. Although certain molecules may be absorbed into the body through inhalation, there is no evidence that this would result in a relevant calorie intake.
- Very small amounts: The substances that theoretically contain calories are present in very limited quantities.
- Inhalation differs from digestion: Calories are normally calculated based on what the body can utilize through digestion, not inhalation.
- No established connection: There is no scientific basis showing that vaping contributes to a measurable energy intake.
Conclusion: Vapes and calories
Although some ingredients in e-liquid technically contain energy, the actual calorie intake when vaping is negligible. The use of e-cigarettes therefore cannot be compared with consuming food or drink from a calorie or energy perspective.
