Dry Throat from Vaping
Dry Throat from Vaping
Many vapers know the feeling, especially in winter. You’re happily enjoying your vape, then suddenly your throat starts feeling scratchy and you get thirsty. In winter in particular, when the air is already as dry as the Sahara, lots of vapers run into this issue. But what causes a dry throat from vaping, and what can you do about it?
Dry throat from vaping: the cause
Our e-liquids usually consist of up to 99% propylene glycol and glycerin, which is what makes them suitable for vaping in the first place. While glycerin is mainly responsible for vapour production, propylene glycol acts as the flavour carrier. One side effect of propylene glycol is that it has hygroscopic properties – in other words, it binds moisture and draws water from the human body. With heavy e-cigarette use, this can lead to a dry throat from vaping.
Of course, you can’t dehydrate yourself with an e-cigarette. The amount of moisture propylene glycol binds from our mucous membranes is minimal, but it can still be enough to create that dry-throat feeling when vaping.
What can you do about a dry throat from vaping?
- Tip one: Drink plenty of fluids regularly. This not only keeps your mucous membranes moist, it’s simply good for you anyway. Especially in winter, when heated indoor air lowers humidity, an extra two or three glasses of water or tea a day definitely won’t hurt.
- Tip two: If drinking more doesn’t do much for your dry throat from vaping, you can also add a small amount of water to your e-liquid. This slightly reduces the hygroscopic effect of propylene glycol. As a rule of thumb: use a maximum of 5% water per bottle of e-liquid.
- Tip three: The choice isn’t huge, but there are also e-liquids with a very low propylene glycol content, e.g. 90% glycerin / 10% propylene glycol. This can also be an effective way to combat a dry throat from vaping. Just make sure the viscosity is suitable for your vape device.
- Tip four: Cut down your daily puffs as much as you can. Think of it like a single grain of salt versus a whole tablespoon of salt on a slice of cucumber. Which one do you think draws out more water?
