As you’re puffing on your vape, have you ever wondered what’s in the flavoured vapour that streams from your nose and mouth and whether it’s vegan? If you’re already vegan or considering following a plant-based diet and animal-friendly lifestyle, then you’ll want to know if vapes are vegan. This is the blu guide for vaping vegans and anyone who vapes and is considering becoming vegan.

What is veganism?

Veganism is more than a plant-based diet, it’s a lifestyle that primarily aims to reduce the suffering of animals. People follow a vegan lifestyle for a variety of other reasons, too, including health and environmental issues.

Vegans don’t eat meat, fish or any animal products so they don’t drink cow’s milk, eat cheese, seafood or even honey. Vegans also avoid using or wearing any animal by-products such as leather or fur and avoid all animal-derived ingredients including gelatine and many other lesser-known additives found in cosmetics, hair and skincare.

In 2020, ethical veganism was classified under the law as a 'philosophical belief’. It’s a way of life that’s been around for centuries although the term ‘vegan’ wasn’t actually coined until the 1940s.

You may have seen the meat-free and plant-based meals and other items readily available in shops across the UK. From vegan steak to vegan shoes, plant-based and cruelty-free options are more popular than ever before. There are now approximately 88 million vegans in the world and the movement is growing.

Popular with ‘Millennials’ (people born 1981-1996) like Barbie movie star, Margot Robbie, who has openly spoken about being vegan, it’s a growing trend among empathetic animal-lovers and those concerned with environmental sustainability. There is also a growing number of ‘Gen X’ (people born 1965-1980) going vegan and many Millennials and Gen X are also vapers.

Are vapes vegan?

While it’s unlikely anyone is going to want a bacon-flavoured vape or cheese or fish-flavoured e-liquid any time soon, for the many vegans and vegetarians, who avoid sweets and desserts with beef and pork gelatine, it’s good to know what you’re buying since not all vapes on the market state that they are vegan or even include their full ingredients.

Are vapes cruelty-free?

The good news for vegans who use blu vapes, is that they are vegan and cruelty-free. The rechargeable blu 2.0 and disposable blu bar are not, and never have been, tested on animals and nor do they contain any animal-derived ingredients. blu offers quality you can trust. The fruit-flavoured vapes and e-liquids do not contain real fruit either! The main ingredients in blu vapes are propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), nicotine and flavourings.

Propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) are often used as food additives and are derived from plant sources so vegan-friendly. blu vapes are available in a wide and growing range of flavours that are all vegan. Nicotine is a natural alkaloid from the nightshade family of plants that is a highly addictive stimulant and anxiolytic and it is also vegan.

Vegans, vaping and the environment

For many vegans, it’s the impact on the environment that was the deciding factor in their change of lifestyle. According to The Guardian, a recent study by Oxford University stated that “Eating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production” and “resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use.”

The devices themselves contain battery components that are not derived from or tested on animals but should be disposed of responsibly and not thrown away with household waste, just as the packaging should be recycled.

blu are committed to minimising environmental impact for a more sustainable future and we encourage all vapers to send used vapes and e-liquids back for responsible disposal.

If you’re vegan or thinking of adopting a vegan lifestyle, then you’ll be pleased to know that blu vapes are vegan. And if you were wondering about traditional cigarettes? Smoking cigarettes is not vegan due in part to the animal-derived products used in their production such as castoreum used in some cigarettes, which comes from a brown substance made from the dried perineal glands of the beaver! You learn something new every day…

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