Wellness vapors or “supplement diffusers” – which allow users to inhale ingredients such as vitamin B12, caffeine, melatonin or essential oils – have grown in popularity alongside e-cigarettes. Available in slim cartridges with bright packaging and impressive names such as Inhale Health and NutriAir, they are sold on websites around the world and are mainly aimed at young people. Some claim to fight ADHD or treat anxiety or depression. But regulators and other experts warn that these products don’t live up to their claims. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers late last year that wellness vapors are unproven, ineffective and can be harmful if used. Vapors do not need FDA approval to be marketed because they do not contain nicotine, and the agency has not approved any vaping products to treat or prevent health conditions or diseases. Allow Instagram content? This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is uploaded, as it may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click Allow and Continue. However, the number and types of wellness vapors are increasing. According to Irfan Rahman, a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center and director of the Center for Inhalation and Taste Toxicology Research, vaping hit the market about three or four years ago and has been steadily growing in popularity. Indeed, a recent Stanford University study of 6,000 people found that 4% of younger teens and 24% of young adults have used nicotine-free vaping products – and about a quarter of them didn’t know what was in the products. The boom in wellness vaping comes as e-cigarette use overall is on the rise, leaving governments scrambling to stem the tide of vaping among young people. Last month, the FDA ordered Juul to remove its popular products from the market, though that ban is currently under appeal. Vapers who hold on to the allure of something cute and healthy could undermine efforts to warn young people about the dangers of vaping, experts say. “The marketing of vaping products as healthy vapor-vitamin inhalers represents a potentially new phase in misleading e-cigarette advertising,” researchers at USC wrote in a 2019 journal article. “In the past, e-cigarette companies claimed their products were less harmful than cigarettes or even completely harmless, but now some marketers are positioning their products as promoting health based on unsubstantiated claims.” Meanwhile, the FDA has warned that these vapors could indeed have negative effects. “Inhaled products can be dangerous and even cause severe coughing, constriction of the airways, and difficulty speaking and breathing,” regulators wrote in 2021. People with heart disease, diabetes, lung disease — such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – or a lung infection may be at greater risk of serious complications, the agency said. Medications can be inhaled — just think of asthma inhalers — but it’s not known whether inhaled vitamins or melatonin can be absorbed into the bloodstream, says Dr. Gregory Ratti, a pulmonologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Virginia tobacco and menthol flavored vape products in a California grocery store. Photo: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images There are no studies to support the use of vaping for sleep or energy or wellness, he says. “We’re really wary about putting anything unknown into our lungs. The things we recommend are drugs that are well-studied,” he says. “What we don’t know about these things is the biggest issue here.” Ratti adds that flavorings added to make vaping more appealing — like banana or watermelon — can cause lung injury. The vapors and propellants that send them into the lungs can include things like propylene glycol, fragrances of unknown origin, and glycerin. “If these get into the lungs it’s a concern,” he says. Wellness vaping companies often say their products are “safe to use” but don’t cite evidence of safety testing. Vitamins are essential for keeping people healthy, but the majority of vitamin intake is through the gut, and researchers say a balanced diet is key, not extra supplements. Lungs are meant for oxygen not these complex chemicals Irfan Rahman Rahman studied some nicotine-free wellness vapes and found oxidative stress – damage to lung cells – caused by these devices, especially in vitamin B12 vapes. This is likely due to the complexity of the vitamin’s chemical structure, he says. He also co-authored a 2018 paper that found certain fragrances cause cell damage. “Lungs are meant for oxygen, not these complex chemicals.” Ratti points out that new vaping companies are constantly popping up online, making it difficult to keep up with the latest trends. There are at least 10 brands of vitamin and wellness vapors for sale online. The devices often use the terms “aromatherapy stick” or “personal diffuser” to avoid confusion with vapors, but they share the same technology. Vaping products that do not contain nicotine are considered supplements – a largely unregulated world – and customers have no guarantee that the ingredients listed are actually in the vape. A recent study of dietary supplements found that nearly 800 of them contained prescription drugs and other substances. Ratti says he fields questions in his practice about patients’ nicotine use, but he thinks doctors should be more proactive when asking about vaping non-nicotine substances like melatonin or vitamins. “We might miss it,” he says. “Patients don’t volunteer information to us because they don’t want us to know.” It’s important for people to recognize that there are unsubstantiated claims and, in the end, Ratti says, there’s no shortcut to health and improving quality of life and sleep. “It’s easy to get carried away by fancy labels and slogans,” he says. “At the very least they may be ineffective, but at worst, they could be harmful and exacerbate other health effects.”
