Can Vaping Cause a Sore Throat?

One of the most difficult situations that you could encounter as a new vaper is finding that vaping doesn't agree with you. If your first experience with vaping isn’t a good one, it is a very disappointing situation.

You’ve probably tried traditional smoking cessation aids and weren’t successful. You’ve heard about the millions of people around the world who have quit smoking with the help of vaping, and you thought that you should join the party and finally become smoke free.

But when you gave vaping a try, you suffered from a sore throat.

Why would that be?

Should you feel discouraged?

Vaping definitely shouldn’t cause a sore throat. If you’re experiencing throat irritation from vaping, you can fix the problem fairly easily if you can identify what’s causing it.

So, why might you get a sore throat from vaping? Let’s take a  look at the most common causes and how to fix them.

This article is not intended to provide medical advice. If you notice worrying symptoms, call NHS on 111 for help.

1. A Side Effect of Smoking

If you’ve recently stopped smoking, you may well experience several side effects. These are caused by quitting smoking and not by vaping.

One of the most common side effects is a sore throat. This happens because long-term smokers usually experience several days or weeks of increased coughing when they quit.

The coughing is caused by the cilia in your lungs becoming more active when you quit, and that triggers a process in which your lungs begin to remove the tar that’s accumulated over the years. If you’ve just quit smoking and are coughing more frequently, it’s likely that the coughing is what’s causing your sore throat.

2. You’re Using a Nicotine Strength That’s Too High

When you first purchase e-liquid, it can be hard to know which nicotine strength is right for you. If you have selected a strength that is too high, the powerful throat hits it delivers may give you a sore throat.

It could also be the case that you are vaping a high nicotine strength using low resistance coils. Sub ohm coils deliver significant vapour. The more vapour you inhale, the higher the amount of nicotine that is delivered.

If you suspect that your nicotine strength is too high, invest in e-liquid with a lower strength and/or vape using higher resistance coils.

3. You’re Using High PG E-Liquid

All e-liquids feature a blend of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG). However, the proportion of PG varies. You will see that product listings a packaging state the ratio of PG to VG. 

A small minority of vapers find that PG is an irritant. In addition, PG delivers stronger throat hits. If you are experiencing a sore throat and have tried changing the nicotine strength of your juice, it would be worth treating yourself to flavours that are higher in VG.

4. Your Vape Coil Is Old or Burned Out

A vape coil could certainly cause a sore throat. Coils should be replaced if the wicking becomes burnt or if e-liquid residue (coil gunk) has accumulated and then burnt. When you experience an unpleasant burnt taste, it's time to change your coil or to change your pod if it features a built-in coil.

5. Your E-Liquid Flavour Isn’t Right for You

While many vapers find menthol to be soothing, a minority discover that it irritates their throat and may even cause them to cough. If you have chosen flavours that feature menthol and experience throat issues, try different blends that do not contain menthol.

Conclusions

It is important that you quit smoking and vaping will certainly ensure that the process is much easier to handle. Don't let a sore throat put you off! The soreness is likely the result of at least one of the issues highlighted above and so is easily solved.