How to Vape Safely - 12 Practical Safety Steps

Vaping is 95% safer than smoking cigarettes, according to a 2015 study published by Public Health England. However, vaping can still cause unwanted side effects such as dry mouth, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. To vape safely, it is important to minimise the potential side effects of vaping by following the 12 steps below.

To vape safely, follow these 12 steps:

1. Purchase Your Vape and Vape Supplies from Reputable Vape Stores
2. Use an MTL Vape
3. Clean Your Vape Regularly
4. Avoid Water Damage to Your Vape
5. Use The Correct Vape Charger
6. Avoid Charging Your Vape Overnight
7. Do Not Tamper With Your Vape Battery
8. Store E-Liquids Properly
9. Keep Your Vape Filled to Avoid Dry Hits
10. Avoid High Nicotine Levels to Reduce the Risk of Vaping Side Effects
11. Take Regular Vape Breaks
12. Stay Hydrated While Vaping To Avoid a Sore Throat

1. Purchase Your Vape and Vape Supplies from Reputable Vape Stores

Buy your vapes and vape supplies from reputable vape stores to help you vape safely. This reduces the likelihood of purchasing dangerous counterfeit items and allows you to safely return malfunctioning vapes for a refund or exchange. This safety consideration applies to all vapes, including disposable vapes, pod kits, sub-ohm vape kits, and vape supplies like e-liquids, nic salts, replacement vape pods, vape coils, and spare batteries.

Dangers of purchasing vapes and vape supplies from disreputable stores include an increased likelihood of obtaining counterfeit vapes, non-compliant vape juice, non-compliant electrical items such as batteries and chargers, and no returns policy or money-back guarantee.

A list of reputable UK vape retailers, such as IndeJuice, is listed on the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) website under “List of registered retailers”. Choosing an OHID-registered vape retailer like IndeJuice is a great way to ensure that your vape purchase is safe.

2. Use an MTL Vape

Use mouth-to-lung (MTL) vapes to help you vape safely. MTL vapes, such as disposable vapes, pod kits, vape pens, and cigalike vapes, are generally less powerful and produce less vapour than direct-to-lung (DTL) and sub-ohm vapes, reducing the risk of adverse vaping side effects such as coughing as a result of inhaling too much vapour.

Disposable vapes are the most common type of MTL vapes. The safest disposable vape brands include Elf Bar, Lost Mary, SKE Crystal Bar, Aroma King, Bear Aspire R1, and NZO SMOK Novo.

When it comes to how to inhale a vape correctly, MTL vapes are easier to inhale for former smokers than DTL vapes, as the mouth-to-lung inhalation process is the same as inhaling a cigarette.

3. Clean Your Vape Regularly

Clean your e-cigarette regularly to reduce the risk of contaminants, helping you to vape safely. Cleaning your vape regularly helps reduce the risk of contaminated e-liquid and foreign particles entering your vape tank. Unwanted contaminants can compromise the safety of your vape as they are likely to cause your vape to overheat or cause you to cough if mistakenly inhaled.

To safely clean your vape, disassemble it carefully and wash all the non-electrical components, such as the tank, coil, or pod, with rubbing alcohol or flavourless vodka. Once washed, dry the components and leave them to air dry on a paper towel for 24 hours.

4. Avoid Water Damage to Your Vape

Avoid water damage to your e-cigarette to vape safely. Water damage is when water accidentally gets into your vape, increasing the likelihood of a short circuit or a battery fire in rare cases where the battery casing has been damaged. To avoid a water-damaged vape, keep your vape away from bodies of water such as swimming pools, beaches, sinks, toilets, and puddles. An additional safety measure to consider is purchasing a protective case for your vape, which may help to protect your vape from accidental water exposure.

If you have dropped your vape in water and it won't work, or if you are worried about it exploding after water exposure, there are a number of steps you can take to safely dry your vape and reduce the risk of dangerous consequences. The safest way to dry a wet vape is to disassemble it and leave the vape and all of its components in a bag of dry rice for 24 hours.

5. Use The Correct Vape Charger

To charge your vape safely, use the power adapter that came with your vape kit. Charging with a power adapter that outputs the incorrect voltage or wattage for your vape increases the risk of overheating the battery, short circuits and damage to the electrical components inside your vape.

Micro USB and USB Type C are the two most common charging ports on rechargeable vapes. To use these cables safely, use a low-output power adapter and avoid fast-charging power adapters unless explicitly approved for use in the instruction manual of your vape.

6. Avoid Charging Your Vape Overnight

Avoid charging your vape overnight to help you vape safely. Supervised charging of your vape is safer than unsupervised overnight charging. Overnight charging is more likely to lead to overcharging, which can damage your battery, reduce its lifespan, or cause a fire in rare cases. Monitoring your device while it's charging is safer than overnight charging as you can unplug it once it is fully charged, avoiding the risk of overcharging and overheating.

7. Do Not Tamper With Your Vape Battery

Do not tamper with your vape battery to ensure that you vape safely. Tampering with your vape battery, such as trying to recharge a non-rechargeable disposable vape, is not safe as it increases the likelihood of malfunctions and battery explosions. Modifying the electrical components inside your vape changes its intended functionality and is likely to compromise the in-built safety features, making your vape less safe to use.

8. Store E-Liquids Properly

Store your e-liquids properly to help you vape safely when you refill your e-cigarette. Storing e-liquids in a cool, dark place both maintains their quality and keeps them out of reach of children and pets.

Prolonged exposure to heat or sunlight is likely to alter the composition of the e-liquids, increasing the likelihood of an unpleasant taste and smell. Keeping e-liquids safely stored away and out of reach of children and pets reduces the likelihood of accidental ingestion or contact with the skin, which can lead to harmful effects.

9. Keep Your Vape Filled to Avoid Dry Hits

Keep your vape filled to avoid dry hits, helping ensure that you vape safely. Dry hits are a common cause of vaping side effects such as coughing, throat irritation and a sore throat. Dry hits occur when the cotton wick inside a vape atomiser is undersaturated with e-liquid, causing a scorching of the cotton, which materialises as a burnt cotton taste while vaping.

To avoid dry hits and vape safely, keep your e-cigarette filled with e-liquid. This ensures that the cotton wick remains saturated so it is not scorched when heated and reduces the risk of inhaling unwanted by-products of scorched cotton. Check your e-liquid levels regularly and refill as necessary to ensure a safer vaping experience.

10. Avoid High Nicotine Levels to Reduce the Risk of Vaping Side Effects

Avoid high nicotine levels to reduce the chance of unwanted side effects, helping you to vape safely. Start with e-liquids that have a lower nicotine concentration, as high nicotine levels are a common cause of vaping side effects, such as nausea and dizziness.

11. Take Regular Vape Breaks

Take regular vape breaks to help ensure that you vape safely. Continuous use of a vape increases the likelihood of experiencing 'vaper's tongue', a temporary condition where the user loses the ability to taste the vape juice, a sign of overuse. Additionally, constant vaping can cause the device to overheat, which increases the chance of unintentionally damaging your device.

By incorporating regular breaks into your vaping routine, you allow your taste buds to recover and the device to cool down, prolonging the lifespan of the device and helping you to vape safely.

Additionally, taking breaks helps you manage nicotine intake, especially if you’re using nicotine-based e-liquids. Nicotine is a stimulant, and consuming too much in a short period can lead to side effects such as dizziness and nausea. By spacing out your vaping sessions, you can control your nicotine intake and reduce the likelihood of experiencing these side effects.

12. Stay Hydrated While Vaping To Avoid a Sore Throat

Stay hydrated while vaping to avoid a sore throat, helping ensure that you vape safely. Vaping can cause dehydration due to the moisture-absorbing properties of the propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine found in most e-liquids. Dehydration can lead to various symptoms, such as a sore throat from vaping, dry mouth, dry skin, and headaches.

To stay hydrated, increase your water intake while vaping. Drinking water not only helps to rehydrate your body but also keeps your mouth moist, which can enhance the flavour of the vape juice and prevent dry mouth, a common side effect of vaping. Staying hydrated can also help to flush out any excess nicotine from your system, especially if you are using nicotine-based e-liquids. This can help to control your nicotine levels and reduce the risk of potential side effects, helping you to vape safely.