So, you’d like to know how to get rid of a dry cough from vaping. Understandable! While atomised e-liquid is less harmful to your respiratory system than the tar and gunk from combusted tobacco, that’s not to say it’s a smooth experience for everyone.
There are numerous reasons you might be coughing when you vape. It’s happened to me quite a few times, but some testing, alternating, and substituting have always sorted it out. So, let’s consider some causes and solutions to a dry vape cough.
‘Quitter’s Cough’
Cause: If you’re just now quitting smoking with the help of vapes, you may have developed a lingering smoker’s cough. This isn’t uncommon and results from your long-suffering lungs clearing tar and smoke residue off of cilia, the little lung fibres that handle muck and infections.
How to fix it: If this is the cause, then you’re in for a treat; by the time that cough clears up (usually two or three weeks after quitting cigarettes), you’ll experience not just an increased lung capacity but also an improvement in your flavour receptors! That’s what I experienced after putting down my beloved baccy for an Innokin kit all those years ago.
Too Much Nicotine!
Cause: There are general guidelines for ‘how many cigarettes – how much nic should I vape’, and it’s not tricky to overshoot the mark.
Consider this: you are more permissive of your vape habit than you were cigarettes. Don’t deny it!
People vape in bed. Would you smoke in bed? People vape in the car. Would you smoke in the car? People vape on the sofa, watching TV for hours. Would you smoke like that?
How to fix it: While vaping more than you smoked won’t cause you any significant harm, you may well be increasing your nicotine intake drastically without noticing it. This results in a dry cough and, worse, an increased craving for nicotine.
So consider your nicotine strength and your intake. Are you vaping because you have a craving right now? Or are you just bored?
| Cigarettes a Day | Appropriate Vape Juice Strength |
| 0-5 | 0-3mg |
| 5-10 | 3-6mg |
| 10-20 | 10-18mg |
| 20+ | 20mg |
A colleague was once asked by a customer who was not getting satisfaction from 20mg what she needed. My colleague responded with brutal honesty: “A bit of self-control.”
Learn more about nicotine in vapes in our How Much Nicotine Is in a Vape guide.
Harsh Nicotine
Cause: This issue sometimes goes hand in hand with the issue above. Heavy smokers require high nicotine content in their e-liquid. But old-fashioned ‘freebase’ nicotine can be notoriously rough on the throat and chest, particularly at high strengths like 18mg and 20mg.
watermelon tobacco strawberry spearmint pomegranate pineapple peach mixed berries menthol melon mango lemonade lemon kiwi ice cream ice ginger energy drink cream cranberry cotton candy cola coconut cherry bubblegum blueberry banana
3 FOR £9.99 – MIX & MATCH…
blue raspberry menthol
How to fix it: For this situation (and sore throat from vaping), we’d recommend trying nicotine salts or bar salts (a kind of nic salt). These e-liquids use a compound to reduce the alkalinity of nicotine solution to a more neutral and smooth-to-puff level.
Feeling Thirsty?
Cause: One weird thing about propylene glycol (PG), one of the main ingredients in vape juice, is that it is a humectant, meaning it draws in and traps water molecules.
PG-laden clouds moving through your respiratory system can leave you unconsciously parched, as the cloud is likely to be drawing moisture from your interior’s tender, fleshy walls.
How to fix it: The easiest fix for this is to keep on top of your hydration—carry a water bottle on you! You should be doing this anyway!
Find a Flavour
Cause: I’m delving into the wellsprings of my own experience for this one, but I know some vape flavourings don’t sit right with my lungs. Tobacco, vanilla, and strong menthol vape juices can often send me on a chortly little fit, even at 0mg.
How to fix it: Unfortunately, this is quite a case-by-case situation of different courses for different horses. What I’m saying is trust your gut. If a flavour starts giving you trouble, try a different one and see how you get on.
PG Intolerance
Cause: Propylene glycol is one of the most common ingredients. It’s a food-grade preservative and flavour carrier that most e-liquids use as part of their VG/PG base mixture.
While it’s rare, some people sadly experience discomfort and irritation from PG when it’s inhaled. While it isn’t dangerous, it’s uncomfortable to the point where vaping VG/PG e-liquids becomes frustrating.
peppermint menthol
menthol blueberry
mixed berries
How to fix it: There are 100% VG e-liquids, such as those produced by Frugi, that won’t set off PG intolerances. However, remember that these e-liquids require sub-ohm kits as they are very thick and cloudy due to their 100% VG content.
Coil Check
Cause: Sometimes, the problem isn’t the juice; it’s the coil atomising it! If your coil is worn out and needs replacement, the vapour it’s producing will likely be scorched and acrid, often resulting in a cough.
How to fix it: Try whipping that nasty dead coil and replacing it with a pristine new unit. You’ll notice the taste difference immediately; hopefully, it’ll be easier on your throat and chest.
Kick That Dry Cough
There you have it! If you are one of the many new vapers with the question, why does vaping make me cough, know that there are numerous potential causes and solutions. No one wants to quit smoking uncomfortably, so figuring out the reason is essential, and I hope we’ve helped today. For more helpful info, check out our blog on how to vape.