Debunking the Myth of "Premium" E Liquids

Wed 18 Jul 2018

Well, it was only a matter of time until supposed marketing gurus rubbed their hands in glee to perpetuate another myth of additional quality at a higher price.

Today we are discussing “gourmet” and “premium” e-liquids.

Lets just state, from the off, there is no such distinction, except in cost. And that is the cost to the end user, not sourcing or production.

The ingredients of e-liquid are as follows;

VG (Vegetable Glycerine) – This is a sweet, colourless plant derivative (most typically soy beans) that is used as a base or sweetener in many foods. It is important to note that whatever plant the VG derives from, this does NOT make a difference to the quality of the product. It is merely a chemical compound.

PG (Propylene Glycol) – This is a fully dissolvable organic compound with the chemical formula C3H8O2. Again, this is exactly what it says on the tin. You cannot buy premium PG. This is used in many foods, and is one of what is known as E-Numbers in the food industry throughout the EU, E1520.

Flavourings – An argument could be made here for flavourings being “premium” if they were 100% natural flavourings. However, it is worth noting that for an orange flavour for example, synthetic flavourings (the vast majority of flavourings used) use chemical compounds based exactly on the formulation of the flavour they are to replicate. Additionally, all synthetic flavourings undergo rigorous tests and assessments (in the EU and the USA at least) while natural flavourings do not have to go through such a test.

Nicotine Liquid – This is predominantly sourced from a strain of the tobacco plant, the same plant as where all other “stop-smoking” nicotine products come from. This particular plant is not the same plant that is smoked. Recently there have been developments in synthesising tobacco. An argument could be made that the use of this going forward could be considered “premium”, as it negates the need for a tobacco leaf in it’s entirety. I think it is certainly something that could be promoted and marketed in some way, but the idea that a synthesised product makes something “premium” is nonsense in my opinion.

And that is it. That is what you are vaping. This isn’t a product that could be bulked out with rusk, while the more costly items contain no rusk so can be considered better than their rivals. E-Liquid while very versatile, is a very simple product and just is what it is. All that changes is the percentage weightings applied to each of the four ingredients. Some people like distilled water in the mix, but again, this is just distilled water.

It is understandable that companies will wish to try and gain an advantage through advertising and marketing in a large, expanding market. But call me old fashioned, duping customers is not my cup of tea.

Hopefully if any of you have been suckered into this myth, then you will now save some pennies!

Written by Alex Blatherwick - ELFC content creator