What if vaping, the act of inhaling compounds as a heated vapor, was healthy? Imagine that we got rid of all that troublesome nicotine, which is addictive and promotes tumor growth. What if that cloud of vape smoke was full of vitamins?
This is not a brand-new idea. There are vape cartridges and pens on the market right now that contain vitamins and claim that they “promote wellness.” Should we vape our vitamins, inhaling our way to better health?
Short answer: almost certainly no, vaping — even with vitamins — is still an unhealthy choice. For several reasons.
First problem: some vitamins have a maximum dosage
Until a few thousand years ago, no creature voluntarily burned and sucked other materials into their lungs. We absorb vitamins and minerals through the digestive tract or synthesize them inside the skin (vitamin D) or in the intestine by our gut microbiome.
This isn’t an argument that “the old way is always better” — but several vitamins have to come into our bodies in this fashion. Vitamins commonly labeled as fat-soluble, like vitamins A, D, E, and K, need to bind to fat molecules in our small intestine in order to be absorbed. They’re then stored in our own fat tissue until needed.
Immediately, this presents an issue. Inhaled vitamin A or E won’t be bound to fat, and won’t be properly absorbed.
Additionally, these vitamins have a maximum dosage. Consuming too much of a fat-soluble vitamin can be dangerous, even deadly. If someone took too much, they would poison themselves; some exotic meats are dangerous to consume because they contain too much of one or more fat-soluble vitamins. No shark liver for us, thanks.
This is why “wellness megadose supplements” on the market focus on water-soluble vitamins, like the B group of vitamins and vitamin C. Take too much of these vitamins, and the excess is excreted in urine (although it can cause stomach pains, cramps, and diarrhea on the way out). Supplement peddlers feel much more comfortable exhorting the benefits of excess water-soluble vitamins, because they are relatively certain that no one will die from taking too much of them.
The current “vitamin vapes” options also focus solely on vitamin B12, usually ignoring vitamin C, due to dosage levels. The recommended amount of vitamin C per day is 90 milligrams, far too much to inhale as vapor. Even if it was pleasant.
Second problem: many foods aren’t safe to be inhaled
Many people love the spicy hotness that capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot peppers, lends to their food. Yet those same people don’t want to be sprayed in the face with an aerosolized form of pure capsaicin (pepper spray).
Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It’s the acid in citrus, like lemons and oranges. And while it’s tasty enough to drink, it’s not pleasant to inhale. (One experiment used aerosolized vitamin C as a sensory supplement to help smokers quit, mimicking the feeling of breathing in smoke but with an acrid twist.)
Vitamin E, already eliminated due to the potential for overdose, can cause lung damage. More than 50 people who reported lung damage from vaping — a condition called “E-Cigarette or Vaping product use-Associated Lung Injury” (EVALI) — turned out to be using vape cartridges with vitamin E acetate, a variant of vitamin E, as a thickening agent.
And just because a vitamin is safe at room temperature does not mean that it will emerge unscathed from a vape.
Studies that look at aerosolized vitamins usually use a nebulizer, a device that creates a mist of cool air. These machines use ultrasonic waves, compressed air, or oxygen to turn a liquid into a misting spray of fine particles. Medicines administered through a nebulizer remain at room temperature.
But a vape uses a heating element. The vaping liquid turns into a gas at a relatively low temperature (usually around 200 degrees Celsius, or ~480 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to a cigarette, but that’s still a good amount of heat. Heat degrades both B and C vitamins, at temperatures lower than inside a vape.
So even if a vape cartridge is full of vitamins, those vitamins may be broken down and ruined by the time they emerge as smoke.
Third problem: vitamins only cover up a larger problem
Despite the claims of many supplement manufacturers, most individuals don’t need any extra vitamins. And if someone does have a vitamin deficiency, it’s often due to a larger dietary issue that also leads to other detrimental effects.
Vitamins are only a small component of a healthy diet; an unhealthy diet won’t be magically fixed with the addition of a multivitamin. A vitamin won’t fix:
- Lack of fiber. Fiber is a prebiotic, an indirect food source that is broken down by bacteria in our gut and converted into beneficial molecules for us.
- Blood sugar spikes. Unhealthy foods are absorbed very quickly, leading to faster, stronger spikes in blood sugar, provoking a stronger corresponding insulin response (which is a bad thing if it occurs regularly and repeatedly).
- Too many calories. Studies on daily multivitamins have not shown any reduced incidence of heart disease, cancer, memory issues, or preventing an overall earlier death. Taking a multivitamin may even lull consumers into a false sense of security, believing that they are “protected” from the negative impacts of an unhealthy diet.
Even if “vitamin vapes” do successfully deliver a subset of vitamins to the body, they won’t do much to move the needle on public health.
The biggest issue with vaping vitamins, or most vitamin supplements, is that our body needs a balance of lots of different vitamins, minerals, and other food components, like protein and fiber. Adding in a specific vitamin in massive levels won’t counteract other deficiencies. We can’t make up for a lack of iron by consuming massive amounts of vitamin B12. That doesn’t fix the initial problem, and just adds a new one.
The best way to get your vitamins, if you’re worried about your health, is to add an extra salad into your diet. Vitamins, fiber, and flattening your blood sugar curve, all in one meal!
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