Almost every single e-juice company goes above and
beyond to describe their products’ flavor profiles to customers, in hopes of
enticing them by appealing to their taste buds.
But rarely does a company disclose how they managed to produce the
flavor that they’re so confident will satisfy your palate.
We know that e-liquids
consist of four primary ingredients: vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol
(PG), nicotine and flavoring. But
flavoring is a blanket term, and few e-liquid brands give you an indication as
to what that flavoring precisely is.
At The Vape Mall, we strive to be as transparent with
our customers as possible, which is why we’re happy to share how we source our
flavoring ingredients. We’ll be talking about one category of flavoring
ingredients known as diketones. These ingredients are widely misunderstood, so
this piece will attempt to clear things up for vapers who are confused about
what these ingredients are, and what they do.
Diketones: What They are and What They Do
When the topic of flavoring ingredients in e-liquids
comes up, many vapers assume that all flavoring extracts are derived from
natural sources. They think that a
strawberry-flavored e-juice contains real strawberry extract, and that a
custardy vape has some sort of dairy-derived compounds. But, flavoring a vape is a lot more
complicated than that.
Diketones are a class of flavoring compounds that are
synthetic in nature, and the reality is that a lot of vape juices contain
synthetic ingredients. Now, there’s a
common belief that synthetic flavoring ingredients are, by default, bad. Many people feel that using these ingredients
implies that a company is copping out by opting for cheaper, lower-quality
ingredients, and that many of these ingredients are likely to lead to health
risks.
In truth, there’s no objective rule that natural is
good, and synthetic is bad. Many
naturally derived ingredients are dangerous, and many life-saving medicines
contain chemically derived ingredients.
Therefore, even though diketones are synthetic, that
doesn’t mean that they’re inherently bad.
In terms of what they offer to e-liquids, diketones are typically used
to produce creamy or buttery flavor notes.
Therefore, you’ll likely find them in e-liquids with creamy or buttery
flavor profiles, such as custards, ice creams and popcorns.
There are three primary ingredients that belong to the
diketones category:
- Diacetyl
- Acetoin
- Acetyl Propionyl
All of these ingredients can be found in a lot of
packaged food items that we consume regularly.
Many manufacturers also use these ingredients to flavor their vape juices.
The Safety of Diketones: What the Research Says
You may remember that a while back, the public was
frantic about a phenomenon known as “popcorn lung.” This came from a story about workers in a
popcorn factory developing a rare respiratory condition from inhaling high
levels of diacetyl, which was used to give packaged popcorn its buttery
flavor.
To date, there have been no recorded instances of
someone developing this condition from vaping an e-liquid containing
diacetyl. But, even so, the majority of
e-liquid companies have chosen to abstain from using it in their formulas,
despite the fact that it is considered safe by OSHA.
The other two diketones are commonly found in e-liquid
formulas, and they are regulated and deemed safe in food products but have not been researched enough for vape products, and have not been linked to
any harmful effects. If you’re a fan of
creamy vapes, there’s a good chance that you’ve been vaping these ingredients
all along without even knowing it, because it’s hard to create that creaminess
without them.
So, to clarify: There
is no research stating that vaping these diketones is harmful. And vaping has been around for over a decade
at this point, so we’d likely know by now if vaping these ingredients was
dangerous.
Either way, if you are hesitant about vaping certain
ingredients, you should feel free to contact an e-liquid company and ask them
what ingredients they use to produce their flavors. A company that has integrity will have no
problem sharing this information with consumers.If you are on the fence about vaping these types of flavors it is best to avoid them all together until more research is done.
Diketones Remain Widely Misunderstood
But the reality is that they’re found in many
commercial e-liquids, and many have been vaping them for years with no negative
effects.
SEO Description: We’ll be talking about one category of
flavoring ingredients known as diketones that are used in our e-liquids.
Focus Keywords: Diketones, E-Liquids, E-Juices, Vape Juices,
Vapes, Vaping, The Vape Mall
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