Vaping Alcohol: Definition and Risks

Author: Thomas Roth

Last Updated: 5/02/2022

Vaping alcohol is starting to become more popular. Instead of drinking alcohol, people are using vapor devices to heat alcohol and inhale the vapor. When alcohol is vaped it maintains its intoxicating properties. Furthermore, vaping alcohol gets an individual drunk rapidly because when alcohol is inhaled by the lungs it enters the bloodstream and reaches the brain faster. For this reason, vaping alcohol can be as dangerous as binge drinking. People who vape alcohol are also more likely to develop alcohol poisoning because of how fast blood alcohol concentration (BAC) rises.

How Alcohol is Smoked?

Alcohol is primarily smoked by using a vaporizing device. While there are some options that can be purchased, vaporizers for alcohol are typically homemade. Alcohol can also be smoked by pouring alcohol over dry ice. When alcohol comes into contact with dry ice it turns into a vapor, which is why pouring alcohol over dry ice is one of the most common methods of smoking alcohol. That said, people use a straw with alcohol that's poured over dry ice to ensure that alcohol reaches their lungs.

Is It Safe to Vape Alcohol?

Vaping alcohol is not safe. It's dangerous because vaping alcohol causes BAC to rise faster than drinking alcohol. When BAC levels rise rapidly it increases the risk of alcohol poisoning. Vaping alcohol can also damage the lungs. While there is not much research surrounding the effects of vaporized alcohol on the lungs, vaping any substance has a chance of causing damage to the lungs. For these reasons, vaping alcohol can lead to many potential side effects and increase the risk of certain cancers.

How does Vaping Alcohol Affect Your Body?

Vaping alcohol affects the body in many ways. While vaping alcohol produces a similar outcome as drinking alcohol, people feel the effects of alcohol faster when vaping. This occurs because alcohol bypasses the digestive system when vaped and enters the body through the lungs. When alcohol enters the body through the lungs alcohol enters the bloodstream immediately and reaches the brain faster. Therefore, people typically vape alcohol to feel its effects faster.

Below are some ways that vaping alcohol affects the body.

• Alcohol poisoning 

• Damage to the lungs 

• Risk for alcohol addiction 

• Harms on the brain

• Effects on the stomach 

• Increased anxiety 

1. Alcohol Poisoning

When alcohol is vaped it increases the risk of alcohol poisoning. Vaping alcohol is similar to binge drinking because it rapidly increases blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in the same way that drinking alcohol does. However, vaping alcohol causes BAC to rise even faster because the alcohol bypasses the digestive system and travels straight to the brain. When large quantities of alcohol reach the brain it can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal. Furthermore, the body can't expel vaped alcohol by vomiting, so alcohol takes longer for the body to remove at dangerous levels. Alcohol poisoning can lead to vomiting, nausea, confusion, loss of consciousness, coma, and death.

2. Damage to Lungs

Vaping any substance can damage the lungs. When alcohol is vaped the vapor passes through the lungs to reach the blood and brain. Heated alcohol that passes through the lungs has the potential to damage the lungs and cause health problems. While research on vaping alcohol is limited, studies suggest that vaping can lead to toxic metals like nickel and lead entering the lungs. These metals can damage the lungs and increase the risk of infections and cancers.

3. Risk for Alcohol Addiction

Vaping alcohol increases the risk of alcohol addiction. Research suggests that addiction is correlated to how fast a substance reaches the brain. Vaping alcohol causes alcohol to reach the brain faster than drinking alcohol, so it can cause alcohol abuse disorder (AUD) to occur faster. It's also important to note that this is true for many substances, which is why tobacco is highly addictive when inhaled.

4. Harms on Brain

Alcohol is a substance that causes chemical changes in the brain to occur. For this reason, abusing alcohol for many years can lead to brain damage, alcohol-related dementia, and other mental health disorders. In fact, abusing alcohol can lead to depression, anxiety, and alcohol addiction. When alcohol is vaped, however, these problems become worse. Because alcohol binds to receptors in the brain faster, vaping alcohol can lead to short-term brain damage. Vaping alcohol is also more dangerous for adolescents and teenagers because their brains are still in development.

5. Effects on the Stomach

Drinking and vaping alcohol have effects on the stomach. These effects cause stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea. While these effects are less common when vaping alcohol, they can still occur. Plus, the intoxicating effects of vaping alcohol can make someone nauseous because of dizziness and alcohol poisoning.

6. Increased Anxiety

Research shows that alcohol consumption increases the risk of anxiety. Alcohol increases the risk of anxiety because it interacts with dopamine and serotonin in the brain. When alcohol interacts with these receptors and chemicals, the body has trouble maintaining balance without alcohol. The lack of balance from alcohol consumption and addiction leads to anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. Furthermore, the anxiety caused by alcohol can lead to alcohol dependence because alcohol can temporarily relieve anxiety.

What are the Similarities and Differences between Vaping Alcohol and Drinking Alcohol?

There are many similarities and differences between vaping and drinking alcohol. Alcohol is a toxic substance and causes intoxicating effects, which occur when alcohol is consumed through drinking or vaping. Vaping alcohol also comes with many of the same risks that drinking alcohol has. Some examples include how alcohol causes damage to the lungs, brain, liver, and kidneys. The key difference between vaping and drinking alcohol is that vaping alcohol bypasses the digestive system. When the digestive system is bypassed alcohol reaches the lungs, brain, and blood faster. 

1. Consuming Calories

When vaping alcohol the amount of calories consumed is different. When alcohol is processed by the digestive system the body absorbs carbs, sugars, and other nutrients from alcohol. On the other hand, vaping alcohol bypasses the digestive system. While many people believe that this means there are no calories in vaporized alcohol, that's not entirely true. This is because calories are still absorbed from ethanol. However, there are fewer total calories when vaping alcohol compared to drinking alcohol.

2. Possibility to Calculate Amount of Alcohol

It's easy to calculate how much alcohol is consumed when drinking alcohol. Calculating the amount of alcohol consumed when drinking alcohol can be done by counting the number of alcoholic beverages consumed and the alcohol content of the beverages. When vaping alcohol, however, it's impossible to calculate how much alcohol is consumed. 

It's hard to calculate because vaping a few ounces of alcohol does not accurately represent how much alcohol was consumed. For example, vaping one ounce of alcohol does not mean one ounce of alcohol made it into the bloodstream. Instead, it depends on how much vapor was inhaled by the individual.

3. Expelling the Alcohol

When alcohol is consumed by drinking it's easier for the body to process and expel the alcohol. Alcohol can be expelled when it's consumed by drinking because it goes through the digestive system. The body has methods for removing alcohol through vomiting and diarrhea, which can help reduce blood alcohol levels. When alcohol is vaped the body has a harder time removing it from the body because there's no alcohol to remove from the digestive system. Therefore, vaping alcohol increases the risk of alcohol poisoning and other dangerous conditions.

What are the Myths of Vaping Alcohol?

There are many myths about vaping alcohol. These are dangerous myths that can lead to alcoholism, alcohol poisoning, and increase the risk of death. Below are the most popular myths about vaping alcohol and each one is false.

• It doesn't have calories

• It's safer 

• It's less addictive 

• No alcohol withdrawal 

• Not illegal if you're under 21 

These are only some of the myths. Vaping alcohol is just as dangerous and unhealthy as drinking alcohol. In fact, vaping alcohol is typically more dangerous than drinking alcohol. 

Is Vaping Alcohol Legal?

Vaping alcohol is legal for adults who are over the age of 21. However, 20 states have made it illegal to sell devices that are specifically designed to vaporize alcohol. It's also illegal for people who are under the age of 21 to vape alcohol or consume alcohol in other ways. Vaping alcohol is also illegal when operating heavy machinery like automobiles.

In other countries, alcohol laws may vary.