A new trend is emerging in the world of vaping that promises great health benefits. Known as “wellness vapes,” they contain vitamins or other additives instead of nicotine and tout claims of increased energy, increased immunity, and a better night’s sleep.
Wellness vapes or “nutritional diffusers” – which allow users to inhale ingredients such as vitamin B12, caffeine, melatonin or essential oils – have grown in popularity alongside e-cigarettes. Available in slim cartridges with bright packaging and eye-catching names like Inhale Health and NutriAir, they are sold on websites around the world and are mostly aimed at young people. Some claim to combat ADHD or treat anxiety or depression.
But regulators and other experts warn that these products don’t live up to their claims. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers late last year that wellness vapes are unproven, ineffective and could be harmful if used. Vapes do not need FDA approval to be on the market because they do not contain nicotine, and the agency has not approved any vaping products to treat or prevent health conditions or diseases.
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However, the number and types of wellness vapes are growing. According to Irfan Rahman, a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center and director of the Center for Inhalant and Aromatic Toxicology Research, vapes hit the market about three or four years ago and have steadily grown in popularity.
Indeed, a recent Stanford University survey of 6,000 people found that 4 percent of younger teens and 24 percent of young adults had used nicotine-free products—and about a quarter of them didn’t know what was in the products.
The boom in wellness vaping comes as e-cigarette use in general is on the rise, prompting governments to scramble to curb the rise of vaping among young people. Last month, the FDA ordered Juul to remove its popular products from the market, although that ban is currently under appeal.
Vapers, which have the appeal of something sweet and healthy, could undermine efforts to warn young people about the dangers of vaping, experts say.
“The marketing of vaping products as health vapor and vitamin inhalers represents a potentially new phase in the misleading advertising of e-cigarettes,” USC researchers wrote in a 2019 journal article. “In the past, e-cigarette companies have claimed that their products are less harmful than cigarettes or even completely harmless, but now some marketers are positioning their products as promoting health based on unsubstantiated claims.”
Meanwhile, the FDA has warned that these vapes may actually have adverse effects. “Inhaled products can be dangerous and even cause severe coughing, constriction of the airways, and difficulty speaking and breathing,” regulators wrote in 2021. People with heart disease, diabetes, lung disease — such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease disease (COPD) — or lung infection may be at greater risk of serious complications, the agency said.
Medications can be inhaled—just think of asthma inhalers—but it’s not known whether inhaled vitamins or melatonin can be absorbed into the bloodstream, says Dr. Gregory Ratti, a pulmonologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Tobacco and menthol flavored e-cigarette products in a California convenience store. Photo: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
There are no studies to support the use of vapes for sleep, energy or wellness, he says. “We’re really cautious about putting something unknown in our lungs. The things we recommend are drugs that are well-studied,” he says. “What we don’t know about these things is the biggest problem here.”
Rathi adds that flavorings added to make vapes more appealing — like banana or watermelon — can cause lung damage. Vapes and the propellants that send them into the lungs can include things like propylene glycol, flavors of unknown origin, and glycerin. “If they’re going to the lungs, that’s worrisome,” he says.
Wellness vaping companies often say their products are “safe to use” but cite no evidence of safety testing. Vitamins are necessary to keep people healthy, but the majority of vitamin intake occurs through the gut, and researchers say a balanced diet is the key, not extra supplements.
Lungs are meant for oxygen, not these complex chemicals Irfan Rahman
Rahman studied several nicotine-free wellness vapes and found oxidative stress—damage to lung cells—caused by these devices, especially in vitamin B12 vapes. This is likely due to the complexity of the vitamin’s chemical structure, he says. He also co-authored a 2018 paper that found that certain fragrances cause cell damage. “Lungs are designed for oxygen, not these complex chemicals.”
Rathi points out that new vaping companies are popping up online all the time, making it difficult to keep up with the latest trends. There are at least 10 brands of vitamin and wellness vapes for sale on the internet. The devices often use the terms “aromatherapy stick” or “personal diffuser” to avoid confusion with vapes, but they share the same technology.
Non-nicotine vape products are considered additives – a largely unregulated world – and customers have no guarantee that the ingredients listed are actually in the vape. A recent study of nutritional supplements found that nearly 800 of them contained prescription drugs and other substances.
Rathi says she fields questions in her practice about patients’ nicotine use, but she thinks doctors should be more upfront when asking about the use of non-nicotine substances like melatonin or vitamins. “We can miss it,” he says. “Patients don’t give us information voluntarily because they don’t want us to know about it.”
It’s important for people to recognize that unsubstantiated claims are being made, and at the end of the day, Rathi says, there is no shortcut to recovery and improved quality of life and sleep.
“It’s easy to get sucked in by flashy labels and slogans,” he says. “At the very least they may be ineffective, but at worst they may be harmful and exacerbate other health effects.”
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