Calorie-conscious vapers ask this one a lot: do vapes actually have calories? Short answer: e-liquid ingredients technically contain calories, but inhaling vapor delivers effectively zero to your body. Whether you use disposable vapes or refillable devices, the caloric impact is the same: negligible. Your lungs don't absorb nutrients like your digestive system does. Vaping won't add to your daily caloric intake in any real way.
That said, vaping isn't risk-free. If you don't currently smoke or vape, don't start. This article is for people who are curious about what's in their vape juice.
What's Actually in Your Vape Juice?
To understand whether vapes have calories, you need to know what e-liquid is made of. Most vape juice has four main ingredients:
Vegetable Glycerin (VG) is a thick, sweet liquid derived from vegetable oils. It creates those dense vapor clouds. VG has about 4.32 calories per gram and typically makes up 50-80% of an e-liquid formula.
Propylene Glycol (PG) is thinner and carries flavor better while producing a stronger throat hit. PG has about 4 calories per gram and makes up 20-50% of most e-liquids.
Flavorings are food-grade compounds that give vape juice its taste. These add trace calories, but the amounts are so small they're nutritionally insignificant.
Nicotine has zero calories regardless of concentration.
Here's a quick comparison:
| Ingredient | Calories per Gram | Typical % of E-Liquid | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetable Glycerin (VG) | ~4.32 | 50-80% | Vapor production |
| Propylene Glycol (PG) | ~4.0 | 20-50% | Flavor carrier, throat hit |
| Flavorings | Trace | 5-15% | Taste |
| Nicotine | 0 | 0-5% | Stimulant |
Both VG and PG count as caloric substances when consumed orally. They're actually used in many foods, medications, and cosmetics. But the key word here is "consumed orally."
How Many Calories Are in a Vape?
Let's do the math. A typical disposable vape or refillable pod holds about 2ml of e-liquid. E-liquid is slightly denser than water, so 2ml weighs around 1.5-2 grams depending on the VG/PG ratio.
Using a common 70/30 VG/PG ratio:
- VG portion: 1.4ml × ~1.26 g/ml = ~1.76g × 4.32 cal = ~7.6 calories
- PG portion: 0.6ml × ~1.04 g/ml = ~0.62g × 4.0 cal = ~2.5 calories
- Total: ~10 calories per 2ml pod (if ingested)
For a 10ml bottle of e-liquid, you're looking at 40-50 calories total, if you were to drink it. Which you absolutely should not do.
For perspective, a single medium apple has about 95 calories. An entire 10ml bottle of vape juice, consumed orally, would have fewer calories than half an apple.
But here's the thing: these numbers only matter if you're eating the liquid. You're not. You're inhaling it.
Do You Actually Absorb Those Calories?
The distinction between ingestion and inhalation matters here.
When you eat or drink something, it goes through your digestive system. Your body breaks it down, absorbs nutrients (including calories), and converts them to energy or stores them as fat. Your stomach and intestines are built for this job.
Your lungs aren't. The respiratory system handles gas exchange, pulling oxygen in and pushing carbon dioxide out. It's not designed to process nutrients or absorb caloric energy from substances passing through.
When you inhale vapor:
- Most of the VG and PG gets exhaled back out
- A small amount may absorb into the bloodstream through lung tissue
- Any absorbed VG/PG gets metabolized by the liver, but in quantities so small they're physiologically insignificant
- The process is fundamentally different from digestion
No published studies have shown measurable caloric absorption from vaping. The scientific consensus is that any caloric intake from inhaling vapor is effectively zero. Not enough to register on any nutritional scale or affect your body weight.
Vaping, Nicotine, and Weight
Vaping itself doesn't add calories, but there's a related concern worth mentioning: the relationship between nicotine and body weight.
Nicotine suppresses appetite. It can:
- Reduce hunger signals
- Slightly increase metabolic rate
- Decrease food cravings, especially for sweets
This is why many smokers and vapers gain weight when they quit. The nicotine wasn't burning calories. Without the appetite suppression, people just eat more.
If you're worried about weight changes when reducing or quitting nicotine, zero nicotine vapes can help you transition away from nicotine while keeping the habit:
- Try gradually reducing nicotine strength instead of stopping cold turkey
- Keep healthy snacks around for when cravings hit
- Stay physically active during the transition
- Talk to a healthcare provider for personalized advice
One thing to be clear about: Vaping is not a weight management tool. It has its own health risks and should never be started for appetite suppression or calorie avoidance. If you're struggling with weight management, talk to a healthcare professional about evidence-based approaches.
Does Vape Juice Contain Sugar?
Another common question, especially from people watching their sugar intake. The answer: most e-liquids don't contain actual sugar (sucrose).
The sweet flavors in dessert, fruit, and candy-flavored vapes come from:
- Sucralose, an artificial sweetener with zero calories
- Ethyl maltol, a flavor compound that creates a sweet, cotton-candy-like taste
- Other food-grade flavorings designed to mimic sweetness without sugar
These compounds taste sweet without the calories of real sugar. Worth noting though: sweeteners like sucralose are notorious for gunking up coils faster, so you'll need more frequent coil replacements.
Some cheaper or less reputable e-liquid brands may use ingredients they don't clearly disclose. Stick with established manufacturers that provide full ingredient transparency.
The Bottom Line
E-liquid ingredients like VG and PG technically contain calories, about 4 per gram when ingested orally. A full 2ml pod has 5-10 calories worth of these ingredients. But since you're inhaling vapor rather than eating liquid, your body absorbs effectively zero calories from vaping.
Vaping won't affect your daily caloric intake, contribute to weight gain, or impact your diet in any measurable way. The calories-in-vape-juice question is more of a chemistry curiosity than a practical health concern.
Keep in mind:
- Vaping isn't risk-free, and non-smokers shouldn't start
- Vaping isn't a weight management or appetite control tool
- Nicotine withdrawal (not vaping itself) can affect appetite and weight
- If you have concerns about weight or nutrition, talk to a healthcare professional
Sources
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Elements Within the Nutrition Facts Table - Official energy conversion factor for glycerol: 4.32 Calories per gram.
- U.S. FDA. 21 CFR 184.1666 - Propylene Glycol - Propylene glycol affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use in food.
- U.S. FDA. 21 CFR 182.1320 - Glycerin - Glycerin recognized as safe when used in accordance with good manufacturing practice.
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Toxicological Profile for Propylene Glycol - No kinetic data for caloric absorption of propylene glycol after inhalation exposure were found.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Toxicology of E-Cigarette Constituents - Comprehensive federal review of PG/VG in e-cigarettes; no caloric contribution identified as a physiological effect.
- Mineur YS, et al. "Nicotine Decreases Food Intake Through Activation of POMC Neurons." Science, 2011;332(6035):1330-1332 - Nicotine suppresses appetite via hypothalamic alpha-3-beta-4 nicotinic receptors.
- Aubin HJ, et al. "Weight Gain in Smokers After Quitting Cigarettes: Meta-Analysis." BMJ, 2012;345:e4439 - Mean weight gain of 4.67 kg at 12 months post-cessation across 62 studies.
- NHS Better Health. Vaping Myths and the Facts - Vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking.
Related: Benefits of Vaping Over Smoking