Is there anything in vapes not suitable for vegans?
In this article...
There are roughly 1.4 million Vegans in the UK, and I’m sure that at least some of them either smoke or use e-cigarettes. But is vaping Vegan? Well, the short answer is yes but at the same time, this isn’t as clear cut as you might think.
What is Veganism?
The Vegan Society describes Veganism as:
a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose
Basically, if it comes from, is made by or is tested on animals, then it’s a no-go. Embracing vegan living means following a plant-based diet that avoids animal foods, such as meat, dairy, eggs and honey.
What’s in e-liquid?
E-liquid is main of 4 main components.
Vegetable Glycerine (VG) is made from plant oils.
Propylene Glycol (PG) is made from petroleum, which isn’t animal related.
Nicotine is usually found in two forms: synthetic and natural, which is extracted from tobacco plants. But the grey area is how these plants are treated. Some crops could have been coated in pesticides which makes them not suitable for vegans.
Flavourings in vapes are usually synthetic and, therefore, are vegan friendly.
Ionised Water is sometimes added to VG to make Aqueous Glycerine (AG), which performs the same but is thinner.
Are vapes Vegan?
E-cigs are electronic devices and we don’t commission any testing on animals, so they’re vegan-friendly, right? Well, that depends on how strict you are. Historically, there may have been animal testing that we aren’t aware of which may have been used to provide data that we still use today. This could have been done more than 10 years ago, if at all. So, it’s down to the individual to decide.
Is smoking Vegan?
This might come as a shock to some, but no. Cigarettes contain thousands of harmful chemicals, some of which cause cancers. But, there are other additives that make them unsuitable for vegans.
Some filters can contain porcine haemoglobin. For those of you that don’t speak Latin, that’s pigs blood. That doesn’t even make them suitable for vegetarians.
Tobacco can be flavoured by castoreum, which is taken from glands found in beavers.
The least offensive additive, but still non-vegan, is beeswax. The keeping of honey bees is considered mistreatment by some vegans.
Is vaping vegan? Yes, but also no. It all depends on how strict you are. What we can say for sure is that our liquids don’t contain animal products and aren’t tested on them. Also, smoking is a lot less vegan-friendly. If you’d like help switching from smoking to vaping, we’re always here to help. Feel free to contact us.
