Most major vape brands now offer 0% nicotine versions of their products, including both disposable devices and bottled e-liquids. These nicotine-free options use the same base ingredients as regular vapes, just without any nicotine added. You can find them labeled as “0mg” or “0%” at vape shops and online retailers.
What’s Actually in a Nicotine-Free Vape
A nicotine-free vape liquid contains three core ingredients: vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), and flavorings. VG is a thick, slightly sweet liquid that produces the visible vapor clouds. PG is thinner and carries flavor more effectively. Most products use either a 50/50 or 70/30 VG-to-PG ratio depending on whether they’re designed for smaller mouth-to-lung devices or larger cloud-producing setups.
The flavorings are where things get more complicated. These are food-grade compounds, but “food-grade” refers to eating them, not inhaling them. A Harvard study testing 51 flavored e-liquids found at least one concerning flavoring chemical in 47 of them. Diacetyl, a butter-flavored compound linked to serious lung disease in factory workers, appeared in 39 of the 51 products tested. Two companies that explicitly claimed their products were diacetyl-free actually had detectable levels when independently tested. These flavoring risks apply equally to nicotine-free versions, since the flavorings are the same regardless of nicotine content.
Brands That Sell 0% Nicotine Products
Several categories of nicotine-free vapes are currently on the market:
- Disposable vapes: The OXBAR x Pod Juice Magic Maze 2.0 comes in a 0% version offering up to 30,000 puffs in normal mode. The FLONQ Max Smart 0% is another popular disposable with a range of flavors. Elf Bar also offers certain flavors in zero nicotine, though availability varies.
- Bottled e-liquids: Naked 100 sells their best-selling fruity and menthol flavors in 0% nicotine, available in 60 mL bottles with a 70/30 VG/PG ratio. These work with refillable vape devices.
- CBD vapes: Brands like Avida sell disposable vapes containing CBD instead of nicotine. These are a distinct product category with their own regulatory considerations.
When shopping, look for “0mg” or “0% nicotine” printed clearly on the packaging. If a product doesn’t specify its nicotine content, skip it.
Vitamin and “Wellness” Vapes
Some companies market vape pens containing vitamins, melatonin, or essential oils as nicotine-free wellness products. The FDA has issued warning letters to companies selling these products, stating they are being illegally sold with unproven health claims. No vaping products are FDA-approved to prevent or treat any health condition. The agency warns that inhaling these substances can trigger severe coughing, airway tightening, and breathing difficulty, and there’s no way to know whether the ingredients or impurities in these products cause permanent damage.
Are Nicotine-Free Vapes Safe?
Removing nicotine eliminates the addictive component, but the aerosol itself is not harmless. A study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology tested what happens when people inhale pure VG vapor with no nicotine and no flavorings added. After just seven days, volunteers showed signs of airway inflammation, including elevated levels of inflammatory markers in their nasal passages. Their airways also produced more mucus, and a key channel responsible for clearing mucus from the lungs showed reduced function.
The same study found parallel results in animal models and lab-grown human airway cells. Sheep exposed to VG aerosol for five days had significantly thicker mucus in their airways. Human airway cells exposed in the lab showed slower movement of the tiny hair-like structures that sweep debris out of your lungs. These effects occurred with VG alone, meaning even a completely unflavored, nicotine-free product caused measurable changes to airway function.
On the cardiovascular side, a 2025 systematic review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that nicotine-free e-cigarettes can cause short-term changes in blood vessel stiffness and oxidative stress. The researchers were clear that these acute effects don’t necessarily predict long-term heart disease, but they called the changes “biologically plausible” warning signs. The review concluded that nicotine-free products “should not be regarded as risk-free,” while noting that no large-scale, long-term human studies exist yet.
Can They Help You Quit Smoking?
One area where nicotine-free vapes show a surprising advantage is in reducing cigarette use. A double-blind randomized controlled trial published in Current Oncology followed smokers for a full year and found that participants using nicotine-free e-cigarettes experienced a higher reduction in daily cigarette consumption than those using nicotine-containing vapes. The researchers proposed that nicotine-free devices help smokers manage the behavioral and social aspects of their habit, the hand-to-mouth motion, the ritual of stepping outside, without reinforcing the chemical dependence.
Interestingly, the nicotine-containing vapes appeared to suppress withdrawal symptoms but may have simply replaced one nicotine source with another, limiting actual reduction. The nicotine-free group, along with those receiving counseling alone, showed a stronger downward trend in cigarette consumption over the long term. This suggests that for people trying to taper off tobacco rather than switch delivery systems, a 0mg vape could serve as a useful behavioral tool.
What to Watch For on Labels
Not all products labeled “nicotine-free” are equally transparent. Some disposable vapes come in both nicotine and nicotine-free versions with nearly identical packaging, so check the fine print before purchasing. Look for the specific “0mg” or “0%” designation rather than vague language like “light” or “low nicotine,” which still contain nicotine.
If you’re buying bottled e-liquid for a refillable device, you have more control over what you’re inhaling since you can verify the ingredients and nicotine level before filling. With disposables, you’re trusting the manufacturer’s labeling entirely. Sticking with established brands that publish third-party lab testing results adds a layer of confidence that the product actually contains what it claims.