What Is Vape Juice? Ingredients, Flavoring & More
Vape juice, also called e-liquid or e-juice, is the liquid your device heats to make vapor. A typical bottle has just four ingredients, and each one changes how your vape tastes and feels.
Here is what goes into vape juice, what each ingredient does, and what to look for on the label.
Short version: Most vape juice is a base of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG), plus flavorings and, if you want it, nicotine. PG carries flavor and throat hit, VG makes the vapor, flavorings set the taste, and nicotine strength is listed in mg/ml.
The four main ingredients
Vegetable glycerin (VG)
VG is a thick, clear, slightly sweet liquid, usually made from plant oils such as soy, palm or coconut. You will also find it in foods, toothpaste, soaps and skin care. In vape juice, VG makes the clouds. The more VG in a bottle, the denser the vapor and the smoother the throat hit, which is why sub-ohm vapers favor high-VG blends.
Propylene glycol (PG)
PG is a thin, colorless, nearly odorless liquid with a faintly sweet taste. It is widely used in foods, often as a carrier for flavorings and colorings, and in cosmetics and medicines. In vape juice, PG carries flavor well, wicks quickly and gives a stronger throat hit, the catch at the back of the throat that many former smokers look for.
Some people find PG irritating, usually as a dry or scratchy throat. If that’s you, try a higher-VG juice, and talk to a doctor about any reaction that doesn’t go away.
One note on all those everyday uses: eating an ingredient or putting it on your skin is not the same as heating and inhaling it, so treat them as background, not as a verdict on vaping.
Flavorings
Flavorings give vape juice its taste, from strawberry and mango to custard, tobacco and menthol. They are blends of natural and artificial flavor compounds, usually food-grade, and they make up a small share of the bottle. The best makers layer several notes, so a creamy inhale can lead into a fruit or cinnamon exhale. Many juices also add a sweetener or a cooling agent. Sweeteners build up on coils over time, which is one reason sweet flavors wear coils out faster.
Nicotine
Nicotine is optional. It is an addictive chemical that comes from the tobacco plant, and most nicotine in vape juice is extracted from tobacco leaves. Some brands use synthetic, tobacco-free nicotine instead, and since 2022 the FDA has regulated both as tobacco products. It comes in two main forms:
- Freebase nicotine, the traditional form, usually sold in strengths from 0 to 18 mg. Lower strengths suit sub-ohm tanks, and higher strengths suit small mouth-to-lung devices.
- Nicotine salts, which feel smoother at higher strengths and usually come in 20 to 50 mg for pod systems. Learn more in What Are Nicotine Salts?
No vaping product is FDA-approved as a quit-smoking aid. If you smoke and are considering switching, talk with your doctor. To choose a level, see our nicotine strength guide.
How the ingredients work together
The PG/VG ratio sets the character of a juice before any flavor goes in. A 50/50 blend balances flavor, throat hit and vapor and suits pod systems and starter kits. A 30/70 blend leans toward vapor and smoothness and suits sub-ohm tanks. Nicotine adds to the throat hit, so strength and ratio together decide how sharp each puff feels.
For the details, read What Are PG and VG? and What Is 50/50 E-Liquid?
Nicotine-free vape juice
Zero-nicotine (0 mg) vape juice uses the same base and flavorings, just without nicotine. The throat hit is lighter, and many freebase flavors come in a 0 mg version. Some vapers choose it purely for flavor, and some step down to it over time. Store zero-nicotine bottles as carefully as any other e-liquid, capped and out of reach of children and pets.
What isn’t in vape juice
- Tobacco leaf. Tobacco-flavored juices usually get their taste from flavorings, although a few use natural tobacco extracts.
- Oil. Despite its name, vegetable glycerin is not vegetable oil, and oils don’t belong in a vape.
- Smoke. Vaping heats liquid rather than burning anything, so what you exhale is an aerosol, a mist of tiny droplets. It isn’t smoke, and it isn’t just water vapor either, whatever the nickname suggests.
Buy from reputable sellers that verify age and carry authentic products, and skip any liquid of unknown origin.
How to read a vape juice label
- Nicotine strength in mg/ml, sometimes as a percentage. Divide the mg figure by 10 to get the percentage, so 50 mg is 5%.
- PG/VG ratio, usually PG first. Some high-VG brands list VG first.
- Nicotine type, freebase or salt.
- Bottle size. Nic salts usually come in 30 ml bottles, and many freebase juices come in larger ones.
- The nicotine warning. In the US, e-liquid that contains nicotine carries the FDA-required statement that nicotine is an addictive chemical, and it comes in child-resistant packaging.
- A batch number or date on many bottles, which helps with freshness. See how long vape juice lasts.
ZampleBox ships from Vista, California, to US addresses, sells to adults 21 and over only, and verifies age at checkout. Browse our vape juice by flavor or brand, or let the Zamplebox Club send bottles picked for your taste every month.
Common questions
What is vape juice made of?
Most vape juice contains propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), flavorings and, optionally, nicotine.
Are e-liquid, e-juice and vape juice the same thing?
Yes. They are three names for the same product, and you will see all of them on our site.
Does nicotine-free vape juice have a throat hit?
A lighter one. Nicotine adds much of the throat hit, but PG adds some too, so a high-PG 0 mg juice still has a little bite.
How should I store vape juice?
Keep bottles capped, somewhere cool and dark, and out of reach of children and pets. Our guide to how long vape juice lasts covers shelf life.
WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. For adults 21+ only.