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Technically yes, but the amount is so small that for practical purposes the answer is no. A full 10ml bottle of e-liquid contains around 40 calories of energy on paper. Almost none of that is actually absorbed by your body when you vape.
E-liquid is mostly two ingredients: vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). Both are food-grade substances that are used in everything from baked goods to cosmetics. Both contain calories when consumed.
A typical 10ml bottle of e-liquid weighs around 10 grams. With most of that being PG and VG, the theoretical calorie content of the whole bottle is around 40 calories. Less than a small biscuit.
The calorie figures above are based on what would happen if you drank e-liquid. (Do not drink e-liquid.) When you vape, the situation is completely different.
01
Vapour goes to your lungs
Calories come from food and drink that goes through your digestive system. Your lungs do not absorb energy the way your stomach does. Inhaling 40 calories of e-liquid is nothing like eating 40 calories of food.
02
Most vapour is exhaled
The vapour you breathe in comes back out again when you breathe out. Whatever calories are in the vapour leave your body almost entirely. Only a small fraction makes contact with absorbent tissue.
03
Trace absorption through mouth and lungs
Some PG and VG does get absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth and lungs. But the amount is tiny: even heavy daily vapers absorb less than 5 calories per day from e-liquid this way.
04
Below detection for most diets
Even on a strict calorie-counted diet, 5 calories a day is within the margin of error of any food label. You would gain or lose more weight from natural daily variation than from your vape.
Some context for how small the numbers are.
Even if you vaped a full 10ml bottle a day and somehow absorbed every calorie in it (impossible), you would still be consuming less energy than a single slice of bread.
The calorie content of e-liquid is so low that it cannot meaningfully affect your weight. But other aspects of vaping can.
Nicotine-free e-liquids have the same PG and VG content as nicotine vapes. So the calorie maths is identical: around 40 calories per 10ml bottle in theory, and a few calories absorbed in practice.
The difference is that without nicotine, you lose the appetite-suppressing and metabolism-boosting effects. So switching from nicotine vaping to nicotine-free vaping can actually lead to slight weight gain even though the calorie content of the liquid is unchanged.
The calorie content of e-liquid is so low that for calorie-based intermittent fasting (16:8 and similar), vaping does not technically break the fast in any meaningful sense. The few calories you might absorb are within measurement error.
Religious fasting and pre-medical-procedure fasting are different. These follow different rules and generally exclude vaping regardless of calorie content. See the separate articles on fasting and religious fasting for the full picture.
E-liquid is safe to inhale through a vape device. It is not safe to drink, swallow or get on your skin in concentrated amounts. The 40-calorie figure above is purely theoretical.
If e-liquid is swallowed, particularly by a child, contact NHS 111 or A&E immediately. Even small quantities of nicotine-containing e-liquid can cause serious harm in children. Store all e-liquid and devices out of reach of children and pets.
Yes, but barely
E-liquid contains a few calories per ml on paper. In practice, almost none of those calories are absorbed by your body when you vape.
Cannot affect your weight
The actual calorie intake from vaping is around 5 calories a day for heavy users. Far too low to influence weight in any meaningful direction.
Nicotine matters more
If vaping affects your weight at all, it is through nicotine's effects on metabolism and appetite, not through the calories in the e-liquid itself.
Part of our guide
Clear, UK-focused answers to the health questions vapers actually ask. From side effects to long-term research.
Back to Health Guidance