About vaping

Vaping products include a wide range of devices that heat a substance to produce an aerosol that you inhale through a mouthpiece. Learn about the products, how they work and what they contain.

On this page

• Vaping
• Vaping devices
• Vaping liquids and substances
• Nicotine forms
• The mechanics of vaping (video)

Vaping

Vaping is the use of an electronic device to heat a liquid which produces aerosol that is inhaled into the lungs. Unlike cigarette smoking, which requires combustion or burning of a cigarette, the liquid in a vaping device is heated to produce an aerosol which is sometimes known as "vapour" and mistakenly called "water vapour".

The term "vaping" is also used to refer to inhaling cannabis aerosols, which are produced by products that differ from those described on this page.

Learn about cannabis, and its uses and forms.

Vaping devices

Vaping products have many names, including:

• mods
• vapes
• sub-ohms
• pod-mods
• vape pods
• vape pens
• e-hookahs
• disposables
• tank systems
• electronic vaping device
• nicotine vaping products (NVP)
• electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes
• electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)

They may also be known by various brand names.

Most vaping devices consist of a:

• battery
• mouthpiece
• atomizer (heating element or coil and wick)
• chamber, such as a tank or reservoir to contain a liquid solution
• some may have a disposable cartridge (a liquid reservoir and heating element combined into a single unit, known as a pod)

Vaping devices are available in many shapes and sizes and they may come with removable parts. Some are small and look like USB drives or pens, while others are much larger.

There are 2 kinds of vaping devices:

• open
  • The device is manually filled by adding vaping liquid into a tank or a pod, which is usually on the top of the device.
• closed
  • The device holds a disposable cartridge or pod that's pre-filled with vaping liquid, which is disposed after it runs out, or
  • The entire device is disposed after it runs out of vaping liquid or charge and they are often referred to as "disposables".

Vaping liquids and substances

Vaping liquids have many names, including:

• e-juice
• e-liquid
• nic juice
• pod juice
• vape juice

Most vaping substances available for sale in Canada:

• are flavoured
• contain nicotine
• are liquids

In vaping liquids, nicotine and/or flavouring ingredients are dissolved in a liquid mixture. This mixture is typically made up of propylene glycol and/or glycerol (vegetable glycerin) and other chemicals. Flavouring ingredients include chemicals and blends of chemicals used to make different flavours.

The number of chemical ingredients used in vaping liquids varies. Between 2017 and 2019, researchers at Health Canada detected an average of 22 chemicals and roughly 9 flavouring chemicals in vaping products sold in Canada^{Footnote 1}.

Additional chemicals can form when:

• liquids sit for an extended period of time^{Footnote 2Footnote 3}
• vaping liquids are heated (through the aerosolization process)
• liquids come into contact with parts of the vaping device, such as the coil

In the vaping liquids that contain nicotine, the level of nicotine can vary widely. Before July 2021 in Canada, vaping substance nicotine strengths ranged from 0 to over 60 mg/ml of nicotine. Since July 2021, the Nicotine Concentration in Vaping Products Regulations establish a maximum concentration of 20 mg/mL for vaping products sold in Canada. Legal vaping substances now contain 0 to 20 mg/ml of nicotine.

Nicotine forms

There are 2 forms of nicotine commonly used in vaping liquids:

• freebase nicotine
• nicotine salts

Both forms can be used in refill liquids or in cartridges for closed systems.

Freebase nicotine

Freebase nicotine is nicotine that has been dissolved in a liquid mixture, typically propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, and other chemicals such as flavouring ingredients.

Nicotine salts

Nicotine salts refer to nicotine that has been dissolved in a liquid mixture that's chemically adjusted to be weakly acidic. Much like free-base nicotine products, these liquids contain propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, and other chemicals such as flavouring ingredients.

The mechanics of vaping (video)

For more information

• Vaping: The Mechanics (infographic)
• Talking with your teen about vaping: a tip sheet for parents
• Talking with teens about vaping: a tip sheet for teachers
• Vaping in Canada: What we know

Footnotes