Did you know that an inhalable product can legally be considered a tobacco product even if it’s not made from tobacco and contains no nicotine? That’s the incredible leap of logic made by California’s Flavored Tobacco Products Retail Law, which took effect near the end of 2022. The law banned all flavored vaping products – even menthol – and made California one of the most restrictive places in the country for vapers.
The flavor ban was – and remains – a serious issue for the many Californians who have used vaping to wean themselves off of smoking. Studies have consistently shown that many former smokers who have successfully switched to vaping credit the availability of appealing vape juice flavors for helping them quit successfully.
So, what have California’s vapers done since the vape flavor ban went into effect? Many of them have started buying their vapes on tribal land or going across state lines to stock up, denying the state of what could have been a vital source of tax revenue.
In this article, though, we’re going to make the case that there’s another way. Instead of jumping through hoops to continue buying flavored vapes, why not just embrace the ban and try unflavored vapes instead? As popular as flavored vape juice is, there’s a significant contingent of vapers who only use unflavored e-liquids and wouldn’t have it any other way. If you give it a chance, you may end up joining them.
Here’s why unflavored vapes are actually much better than you think.
Unflavored Vapes Taste More Like Real Cigarettes
If you want a vape that tastes like a real cigarette, here’s some news that might surprise you: You’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re buying tobacco-flavored vapes or e-liquids. That’s because e-liquids use food-grade flavorings, and there isn’t a food flavor in the world that tastes anything like burning tobacco. Some people do enjoy the rich and nutty flavor of a good tobacco vape juice because a well-designed flavor can still stimulate the palate in a similar way to real tobacco – but it’s definitely not the same. Many people actually find that unflavored e-liquid can taste more like a real cigarette.
Why is that? The reason has to do with the nicotine. Nicotine tastes a bit like black pepper. You might not notice the taste of the nicotine when you smoke a cigarette because the smoke covers the flavor, but it’s there. You’ll notice it even more when you use a nicotine replacement product like nicotine gum. Since e-liquid contains nicotine, you get that same flavor when you vape – and you’ll really taste it when there isn’t a food-grade “tobacco” flavor getting in the way. One of the other main ingredients in most e-liquids – vegetable glycerin – has a slightly sweet flavor that contrasts nicely with the peppery flavor of the nicotine.
The fact that vape juice contains glycerin is another reason why some people think that unflavored e-liquids taste somewhat like real cigarettes. Glycerin is often added to tobacco products to help them retain moisture, and you’ll really taste the glycerin in an e-liquid that has no other flavorings.
If you want an unflavored vape to taste as much like a real cigarette as possible, you want to buy one with a high nicotine strength. The “Clear” flavor from the Flum Pebble brand is a great choice because it has a high strength of 50 mg/ml. Many other disposable vapes also have Clear flavors available.
Your Coils Will Last Forever
If you prefer refillable vapes, you still might love unflavored vape juice because it’ll help you avoid the “coil gunk” that makes your coils taste burnt. All e-liquid leaves residue on a vape coil. Eventually, the residue turns the coil dark and forms a thick layer that starts to smolder and burn when you vape. That’s what causes your vaping device to begin producing a burnt flavor, and the only way to fix the problem is by replacing your coil.
The thing about coil gunk, though, is that some e-liquid ingredients leave much more residue behind than others. The biggest offender is sucralose, the sweetener that’s in almost all mainstream e-liquids today. Check out this YouTube video showing what happens when you drop a hot metal ball into a bowl of sucralose. The sucralose doesn’t vaporize; it immediately forms a black, sticky goo. That’s exactly what happens to your vape coils when you use sweetened e-liquid. If you’re a heavy vaper, you may need to replace your coil almost every day to maintain acceptable flavor quality.
Unflavored e-liquid, on the other hand, contains no sucralose. It also doesn’t contain other flavoring ingredients that contribute to coil gunk. It’s not rare at all for people who use unflavored e-liquids to continue using their coils for weeks without replacing them.
If you have a refillable vaping device and use sweetened e-liquid, it’s likely that you spend significantly more money on replacement coils than you do on vape juice. Switching to unflavored e-liquid can save you a huge amount of money – and that’s not the only reason why unflavored vapes are easier on your pocketbook.
You’ll Save a Lot of Money
Whether you use disposable vapes or a refillable device, you’re spending more on vaping than you need to if you’re still using flavored vapes in California following the flavor ban. Tribal smoke shops and vape shops just across state lines know that you can’t legally get flavored vapes any other way, so they can charge whatever they want for those products. Unflavored vapes, on the other hand, are perfectly legal for sellers to ship to California – and that means you can buy them online without worrying that you’re breaking the law.
Online retailers have much stiffer competition compared to brick-and-mortar vape shops, and that means they can’t afford to price gouge. You’ll always get the best prices if you buy your vapes online, and you’re completely free to do that in California as long as you’re ordering unflavored products.