Key takeaways
- Good vape juice is just four things: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), food-grade flavoring, and (optionally) nicotine.
- PG and VG are the base: both food-grade and FDA “generally recognized as safe” to consume — with flavor and nicotine added on top.
- Some bottles also contain a little sweetener, a cooling agent, or a touch of water. All normal.
- What should NOT be in it: diacetyl (removed by reputable makers; banned in the UK/EU), and any oils or vitamin E acetate — the additive behind the 2019 lung-injury outbreak, which was in illicit THC cartridges, not regulated nicotine juice.
- The safest move is simple: buy from reputable, regulated brands. That’s what keeps the bottle to the short, clean list.
What’s actually in vape juice?
Strip away the marketing and a bottle of vape juice is four ingredients: two base liquids (PG and VG), flavoring, and (if you want it) nicotine. That’s it for the vast majority of e-liquid. A few bottles add a small amount of sweetener, a cooling agent or a splash of water, but the core is those four. Here’s what each one does, and just as important, what a good bottle should never contain.
PG (propylene glycol)
PG is the thin base liquid that carries the flavor and gives the throat hit. It’s a clear, odorless, food-grade liquid used across food, medicine and cosmetics, and the FDA lists it as Generally Recognized as Safe to consume. 1U.S. FDA — Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/generally-recognized-safe-gras In your vape it does two jobs: it carries flavor cleanly and delivers the cigarette-like throat hit ex-smokers want. A minority of people are mildly sensitive to it (dry throat, the odd rash).
VG (vegetable glycerin)
VG is the thick, slightly sweet base liquid that makes the vapor. Derived from plant oils (usually soy, palm or coconut — worth knowing if you have a severe allergy to those) and also food-grade and GRAS, it produces the big, smooth clouds and softens the throat hit. It carries flavor a little less sharply than PG, so cloud-heavy juice sometimes tastes muted. How much of each you get — the PG/VG ratio, usually written VG-first as 70/30 or 50/50 — is the single biggest factor in how a juice feels, and we cover choosing it in PG vs VG explained.
Nicotine (optional)
Nicotine is the ingredient that makes vaping a genuine substitute for smoking, but it’s optional, and plenty of juice is 0mg. When it’s in there, it comes in three forms you’ll see on labels:
- Freebase: the traditional form; smooth at low strengths, harsh if pushed high.
- Nicotine salts: smoothed with an acid so they stay easy to inhale at high strengths, ideal for small pods (more on nic salts).
- Synthetic (tobacco-free) nicotine: made in a lab rather than extracted from tobacco; increasingly common, in both freebase and salt forms.
Nicotine is what satisfies a craving, but be clear-eyed: it’s addictive, and a stimulant that briefly raises heart rate and blood pressure. Picking the right strength matters, and our guide to nicotine strengths and percentages helps, and if you’d rather have none, nicotine-free vaping is a full option. (Curious how it compares to a cigarette? See how much nicotine is in a cigarette.)
Flavorings
Flavor is what makes one juice a strawberry and another a custard — and it’s usually the smallest part of the bottle, around 3–10%. The concentrates are food-grade, the same family used in sweets, drinks and baking, which is how e-liquid mimics familiar tastes. The important nuance: food-grade means “safe to eat,” which is not automatically “safe to inhale over years” — the long-term data on breathing flavorings is still limited, and some (cinnamon, strong menthols) can irritate the throat. It’s the one ingredient where “buy from a reputable brand” matters most.
What else can be in the bottle?
A few extras are normal and harmless in small amounts:
- Sweeteners (usually sucralose) — for a sugary taste. Worth going easy on: heavy sweetener gunks up coils faster.
- Cooling agents (menthol or WS-23) — the “ice” in ice flavors.
- A little water or distilled water: occasionally, to thin a high-VG blend.
What should NOT be in your vape juice
This is the part that actually matters for safety, and where a lot of scare stories get the facts wrong. A quality, regulated bottle should never contain:
- Diacetyl. This buttery flavoring was linked to “popcorn lung” in factory workers years ago, and the fear stuck to vaping. In reality, reputable makers removed it, it’s banned in vape products in the UK and EU, and there’s no good evidence that vaping causes popcorn lung — cigarette smoke actually contains far more diacetyl than any vape did. 2NHS — Vaping myths and the facts. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/vaping-myths-and-the-facts/ Still, good juice leaves it out.
- Oils and vitamin E acetate. Proper vape juice is water-soluble PG/VG, never oil. Vitamin E acetate is the additive the CDC identified as strongly linked to the 2019 outbreak of serious lung injury (EVALI) — and crucially, it was found in illicit, street-bought THC vaping cartridges, not in regulated nicotine e-liquid. 3CDC — Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with E-cigarette Use (EVALI): vitamin E acetate and THC products. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6903e2.htm That distinction is the whole point: the danger came from unregulated black-market carts, which is exactly why you buy nicotine juice from reputable, regulated brands.
Get your juice from a trusted, regulated seller and none of this is on your bottle. The short, clean list (PG, VG, flavor, nicotine) is what you want.
Is “organic” or “natural” vape juice a thing?
Barely, and mostly as marketing. To be certified organic, an e-liquid would need organically-sourced ingredients throughout — but most nicotine is lab-extracted and most flavorings are lab-created, both of which fall outside organic rules. VG (from plant fats) is the closest, so a 100% VG, 0mg, flavor-light blend is about as “natural” as it gets, at the cost of flavor and a throat hit. Treat “natural” and “organic” labels as a nice-to-have, not a safety guarantee; regulation matters far more than the word on the front.
Can you make your own?
Yes: DIY vape juice mixes those same ingredients yourself for cheaper, fully custom bottles. Two rules make it safe: measure nicotine precisely (concentrated nicotine is hazardous), and remember not every edible flavoring is meant to be inhaled, so source from suppliers who sell for vaping. Our beginner’s guide to DIY vape juice walks through it.
Once you know what’s in the bottle, the rest is choosing well: how to choose the right vape juice covers strength, ratio and flavor, and we’ve tested the best vape juice flavors if you’re ready to pick one.
FAQ
What is vape juice made of?
Four core ingredients: propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) as the base, food-grade flavoring, and optional nicotine. Some bottles also add a little sweetener, a cooling agent or water. That’s the whole list in a quality, regulated juice.
Is there anything harmful in vape juice?
In a regulated, reputable bottle, no oils, no vitamin E acetate, and no diacetyl (banned in the UK/EU). The serious lung-injury cases in 2019 were tied to vitamin E acetate in illicit THC cartridges, not regulated nicotine e-liquid. Buying from trusted brands is what keeps the list clean.
Does all vape juice contain nicotine?
No. Plenty of e-liquid is 0mg (nicotine-free), and nicotine strengths otherwise run from very low up to high-strength salts.
What happens if I swallow vape juice?
A tiny amount of low-strength juice is usually minor, but swallowing more, especially high-nicotine juice, is dangerous. Call poison control, and always store e-liquid out of reach of children and pets.
How should I store vape juice?
Somewhere cool, dark and sealed; a cupboard is fine. Heat and light slowly degrade the nicotine and flavor. Sealed and stored well, a bottle keeps for a year or two.
