How Many Calories Are in a Vape? What Science Really Says?

What are the Basics: What Is in a Vape?

How Many Calories Are in a Vape? Let's get to the caloric effect before we dive into what's actually in the vape. Most industrial e-liquids, commonly referred to as vape juices, have four primary ingredients:

Propylene Glycol (PG)
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
Nicotine
Flavorings

Propylene glycol is a chemical used to make a smooth throat hit. Vegetable glycerin, which is found in plant oils, provides sweetness and viscosity to the vapor.

Nicotine, the addictive drug, can be in various concentrations, and flavorings in a broad range of profiles—from fruit mixes to dessert-style mixes.

The chemical composition of each of these ingredients theoretically makes it a contributing factor to calorie intake. But what happens when they're vaped and breathed in, as opposed to being digested?

Calories and Inhalation: Is Vaping Like Eating?

Let's be frank: vaping is not the same as consuming. When you ingest or consume something, your body metabolizes substances in the digestive system, unlocking energy and storing calories where they belong.

When you vape, however, the chemicals are aerosolized and absorbed primarily by the respiratory tissue and lungs, not the stomach. So to answer “how many calories are in a vape?”

Points below are crucial

This distinction is crucial because calories are measured in units of metabolized energy—essentially how much energy the body can get from a substance through digestion.
Substances vaped go around the gastrointestinal system altogether.
Therefore, although e-liquids do carry calories (notably vegetable glycerin, which holds about 4 calories per gram), the delivery system does not enable the body to utilize those calories in any significant manner.

Does Vegetable Glycerin Contribute to Calorie Intake?

This is where the confusion usually starts on how many calories are in a vape?.

Vegetable glycerin (VG) is sweet, syrupy stuff and technically a carb. It's got approximately 4.3 calories per gram, as much as sugar or alcohol. And so, of course, people figure that if you're inhaling something with VG, you're consuming its calories as well.

As per peer-reviewed journals and toxicological investigations, inhaled VG never enters the metabolic pathway that is necessary for caloric utilization.

The human lung is adapted for gas exchange, not nutrient uptake. Although tiny amounts of VG would circulate in the bloodstream, it is far too small to be measured as caloric consumption, particularly when compared to ingestion.

To be blunt: you'd have to vape hundreds of milliliters of e-liquid daily to even approach a single calorie's worth of absorbed VG—and even that, there is no indication your body would process it as food.

Do Flavored Vapes Add Calories?

That's where things get confusing. Some consumers think that dessert-sweet-flavored vapes—say, "vanilla custard," "blueberry pie," or "chocolate mousse"—are going to have sugar or some kind of high-calorie material. That's not true.

The vast majority of e-liquid flavorings are synthetic chemical compounds designed to replicate the taste and smell of actual foods. They are frequently used in trace quantities, measured in milligrams.

Most importantly, they do not include sugars, fats, or digestible carbohydrates. Additionally, even assuming that these flavorings contained calories in their natural state, evaporating them and breathing them in removes the potential for caloric digestion.

The taste is received through the sense of smell and the taste buds, not nutritional absorption.

What Does Science Actually Say?

Let’s look at the peer-reviewed literature. Multiple studies, including those conducted by toxicologists and public health researchers, conclude that:

There is no significant caloric absorption through vaping.
Inhaled e-liquids do not contribute to daily caloric intake.
VG and PG are not metabolized through pulmonary absorption.

In fact, no scientific study has ever recorded an increase in caloric intake or body mass directly attributable to vaping. If vaping had any notable impact on caloric balance, it would be widely documented—especially given the billions of users globally.

Can Vaping Make You Gain Weight?

Theoretically, no. But indirectly? Possibly.

Here’s how:

Behavioral compensation: Some ex-smokers who turn to vaping may find their appetite increases after reducing nicotine intake. This is behavioral, not biochemical.
Psychological cravings: Sweet vape flavors might trigger sugar cravings, which in turn could lead to snacking and calorie overconsumption.
Lifestyle association: Vaping while sedentary—sitting at a desk, gaming, or watching TV—may create a habit loop where users eat mindlessly while vaping.

These are correlations, not causations. In other words to answer: “how many calories are in a vape?”, vaping itself doesn’t contain or deliver calories, but the behaviors surrounding it could impact your weight if not kept in check.

Do Vape Clouds Contain Calories?

A frequent question that arises in forums is whether vape clouds themselves contain calories that could be inhaled or absorbed. The short answer: no.

Vape clouds are aerosols made of microscopic liquid droplets suspended in air, mostly composed of water vapor, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin.

While VG has caloric value in liquid form, its aerosolized counterpart does not act like food or drink. You don’t absorb calories through your lungs the way you do through your gut.

No current scientific methodology supports the idea that exhaled vapor could be reabsorbed by the body in any caloric fashion.

What About Zero-Nicotine Vapes? Are They Calorie-Free?

Yes—zero-nicotine vapes still don’t have any meaningful caloric value.

Without nicotine, you’re left with VG, PG, and flavorings. As we’ve established, these ingredients are not processed in a way that leads to energy storage. Even with heavy use, zero-nicotine vaping contributes virtually nothing to your daily caloric intake.

Fitness, Dieting, and Vaping: Should You Be Concerned?

If you're tracking your diet very closely, maybe for weight loss, bodybuilding, or performance reasons, you don't need to track your vape use in MyFitnessPal. It's not adding up calories, and so isn't affecting your caloric deficit or surplus directly.

But if vaping is one piece of a greater trend of unhealthy eating habits, cravings, or snacking, then it's best to look at the context—not the vape.

In summary: your vape isn't ruining your diet—your lifestyle may be.

Vape Juice 101: What Are You Actually Inhaling?

To understand whether vaping can affect your calorie count, we must first unpack what’s inside the average e-liquid:

Propylene Glycol (PG)
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
Nicotine
Flavorings

These core ingredients form the backbone of virtually every vape juice on the market.

Each serves a specific function—PG for throat hit and carrying flavor, VG for dense vapor production and sweetness, nicotine for stimulation and addiction, and flavorings for the sensory experience.

All four exist in different ratios depending on the product, but none are consumed like food. That’s the crucial distinction.

Do Vape Ingredients Contain Calories? Yes. Do You Absorb Them? No.

Let’s break down each ingredient’s caloric profile.

Vegetable Glycerin (VG)

VG is a syrupy, sweet stuff that does have calories—about 4.3 calories per gram. It's commonly used in food and pharmaceuticals and is counted as a sugar alcohol.

When you vape VG, though, it gets aerosolized rather than digested. The body doesn't process inhaled VG the same way it would if you ate it in food or drank it.

Propylene Glycol (PG)

PG is another food-safe compound, used commonly in processed foods, cosmetics, and medicines. Like VG, it has a small caloric content, but in the context of vaping, it doesn’t reach the digestive system.

Flavorings

Flavorings in vape liquids are used in extremely small concentrations, often in trace amounts. These do not contain digestible calories and are present to simulate the taste of fruits, desserts, menthols, or candies—without using actual sugars, fats, or carbohydrates.

Nicotine

Nicotine is not only free of nutritional value but also adds no calories. Though it does stimulate the nervous system and has a minimal effect on increasing the metabolism, it's not a caloric drug.

Inhaling these ingredients does not equate to eating or drinking them. The lungs are not designed to absorb macronutrients, so the presence of caloric molecules in vapor doesn’t result in meaningful energy intake.

Can Vaping Make You Gain Weight? Unpacking the Myth

Here’s where the conversation gets nuanced. Vaping doesn’t contain calories in any digestible way, but could it still indirectly affect weight? The answer lies not in the chemistry, but in behavioral psychology and metabolic response.

Appetite Suppression from Nicotine

Nicotine, a ubiquitous stimulant, is an appetite suppressant and a metabolism booster. This has been well reported in chronic smokers, many of whom become heavier after quitting.The same may apply to vapers, especially those using nicotine-based products. When a person stops vaping, they may:

Feel hungrier
Snack more often
Experience metabolic slowdown as nicotine leaves the system

However, as long as one continues vaping with nicotine, appetite is often reduced, and cravings for food may be lower. This could lead to weight maintenance or even weight loss, though the long-term health tradeoffs are worth considering.

Behavioral Triggers and Cravings

Certain vapers, particularly those with dessert-flavored liquid, experience increased cravings for sweet foods. Although the vapor itself contains no sugar, the subjective perception of sweetness may trigger a desire for real high-calorie foods, even unconscious snacking or overeating.

Second, vaping can become habitual: winding down in the evening with a vape to hand, perhaps accompanied by soda, chips, or other high-calorie treats.

The habit loop around vaping might contribute to weight gain, but not the vape itself.

Are Vape Clouds Caloric? Can You "Inhale" Calories?

This might be one of the strangest, yet most commonly asked, questions after “how many calories are in a vape?”. The short answer: no.

Vape clouds are made of aerosolized particles of VG and PG, suspended in water vapor. While VG technically contains calories, you are not metabolizing vapor.

The human respiratory system is not equipped to break down or store energy from airborne compounds like the digestive system is.

Even with intense daily vaping, the caloric intake is practically zero. Studies estimate that the average vaper would have to inhale an absurd volume of e-liquid—multiple full bottles per day—for their body to potentially extract a single calorie. It’s just not how the body works.

Zero-Nicotine Vapes: Still Calorie-Free

Nicotine-free vape juices are often used by people trying to wean themselves off nicotine or avoid it altogether. These products contain VG, PG, and flavorings—but no nicotine.

Since we've established that none of these components are metabolized via inhalation, zero-nicotine vapes still have no significant calorie count. Whether you’re using a 0mg disposable vape or refilling a mod with nicotine-free juice, you’re not adding to your daily caloric intake.

Comparing Vaping to Other Caloric Consumption Habits

Let’s contrast vaping with activities that actually do contribute to weight gain:

Drinking sugary and sweet beverages (soda, juice, energy drinks)
Alcohol consumption (especially high-proof liquors and beer)
Snacking on junk food which got high-carb, high-fat foods

All of these deliver real, measurable energy to your system, stored as fat if unused. Vaping simply doesn’t compare. Even the sweetest-tasting vape is not going to load your bloodstream with glucose, fructose, or triglycerides.

Can Vaping Be Used as a Weight Loss Aid?

There's no indication that vaping is an effective or safe means for weight loss. Nicotine does suppress appetite and increase resting metabolic rate minimally, but its dangers of producing long-term nicotine addiction are greater than its benefits.

Others will encounter minimal weight loss when quitting smoking and converting to vaping, or quitting vaping itself in the event that they were binge-eating while stopping vaping. But these results are incidental, not clinically recommended.

In fact, public health bodies discourage using vaping or smoking for weight control. It’s better to focus on diet, exercise, sleep, and mindfulness practices—methods proven to sustain a healthy body long-term.

Conclusion: The Calorie Count of Vaping, Debunked

Let’s put the debate to rest to “how many calories are in a vape?”. Based on current evidence and biological principles:

Vapes do not contain metabolizable calories.
Inhaled ingredients are not processed like food or drink.
Even calorie-containing substances like VG are not absorbed in sufficient quantities to matter.
Nicotine and flavorings do not contribute caloric value.