What is in a vape? The full ingredient list
People ask what is actually in a vape expecting a long, mysterious list. It isn't one. Whether you're looking at a vape pen, a vape pod, a disposable, or a refillable cart, the liquid that gets heated is built from just a handful of things, and every Deepkold device uses the exact same recipe — only without the nicotine. Here is everything that is typically in a vape, in one place:
- Propylene glycol (PG)
Thin carrier base — carries flavor and gives the light throat feel. - Vegetable glycerin (VG)
Thicker base — makes the vapor and the smooth mouthfeel. - Food-grade flavoring
The taste — fruit, mint, "ice," custard — dissolved into the PG/VG base. - Nicotine — in a conventional vape only
The addictive part. In a Deepkold nicotine-free vape this is 0% (zero nicotine) — left out entirely.
That's the whole liquid. Below, each ingredient gets its own section, then we cover the hardware around it — the atomizer, coil, cartridge or pod, and battery — because "what is in a vape" really means two questions: what is in the liquid, and what is in the device.
Propylene glycol (PG) — what is in vape juice, part one
PG is a thin, nearly flavorless liquid that acts as the carrier in the base. Its main job is to carry flavor and to create the light throat feel you sense on a pull. Because PG is thin, it absorbs flavoring well and delivers a crisper, more defined taste than a glycerin-heavy mix would on its own. In a Deepkold vape — where there's no nicotine to add bite — PG is part of why the cooling and sweetness still register clearly.
PG is also a common food-grade ingredient: the U.S. FDA lists it among substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a food additive. Important caveat: that GRAS status is about eating it. Heating a liquid into an aerosol and breathing it in is a different context, and food-grade status does not mean it is proven safe to inhale.
Vegetable glycerin (VG) — what is in vape liquid, part two
VG is the thicker, slightly sweet companion to PG. Its job is vapor production — VG is what creates the visible clouds and the smoother, fuller mouthfeel of each draw. A higher VG ratio means denser vapor and a softer pull; a higher PG ratio means sharper flavor and a little more throat feel. Most disposable e-liquids, including the liquid in a Deepkold vape, blend the two to balance cloud and taste.
Like PG, glycerin is a familiar food-grade ingredient that shows up in everything from baked goods to toothpaste, and it is widely catalogued by health bodies such as the NIH. The same honest caveat applies: being food-grade describes its use as a food ingredient, not a verdict on inhaling a heated aerosol.
Food-grade flavoring (and what "ice" in a vape means)
Flavoring is what turns a neutral base into Watermelon Ice, Cool Mint or Vanilla Custard. Deepkold uses food-grade flavor concentrates — the same broad category of flavorings used in candy, drinks and desserts — dissolved into the PG/VG base. Because a nicotine-free vape has no nicotine throat hit to lean on, flavor and cooling do more of the work, so the flavoring load is tuned to keep every pull bright and defined.
What is "ice" in a vape?
When a flavor is labeled "Ice" — Watermelon Ice, Blue Razz Ice — the "ice" is a cooling flavoring (a koolada-type sensation, often described like menthol) blended into the mix. It is not actual ice and it is not a drug; it's the cool, frosty hit you feel on the exhale. For a zero-nicotine line, that cooling is a big part of the experience, which is why Deepkold's Polar Ice line leans into it hardest.
Once again, "food-grade flavoring" means the concentrates are approved for use in food. It does not by itself establish that inhaling those same flavorings is safe — no vape, nicotine-free or not, is risk-free, and we won't pretend otherwise. For the full picture, our companion guide covers whether nicotine-free vaping is safe.
Zero nicotine, no tobacco — what's not in it
This is the part that defines the category. A Deepkold nicotine-free vape contains 0% (zero nicotine) — no nicotine, no nicotine salts, and no tobacco of any kind. What's left is just the PG/VG base and flavoring described above. There is nothing added in place of nicotine, and no other drug; the recipe simply leaves it out and relies on cooling and taste to carry the experience.
People often phrase this as a percentage question — what percentage or level of nicotine is in a vape. For a conventional device the answer varies, but for a Deepkold device the answer is fixed and simple: the percentage of nicotine is 0%. There is no "highest" or "lowest" dose to weigh up, because there is no nicotine to dose at all. That is the entire point of a zero-nicotine vape — you take the addictive variable off the table completely.
- Not in it:
No nicotine, no nicotine salts, no tobacco, no caffeine, no other added actives or drugs. - In it:
PG, VG and food-grade flavoring — that's the whole liquid list.
The hardware: atomizer, coil, cartridge and battery
The liquid is only half the device. The other half is the hardware that heats it — and "what is in a vape" includes these parts too. Here's what each one does:
What is an atomizer in a vape?
The atomizer (sometimes spelled atomiser) is the part that turns liquid into vapor. It houses the coil and a wick: e-liquid soaks into the wick, the coil heats it, and the atomizer converts it to the aerosol you inhale. In a disposable, the atomizer is sealed inside the device — there's nothing to assemble.
What is in a vape cartridge, cart or pod?
A cartridge (or "cart"), a pod, or the prefilled chamber of a disposable is simply the reservoir that holds the e-liquid around the coil. In a Deepkold disposable, that chamber comes prefilled with 16 mL of the same PG/VG-plus-flavoring liquid — no separate cartridge to buy, fill or swap. Whatever the format is called, what's inside the cart, pod or cartridge is the same short ingredient list.
What type of battery is in a vape?
The battery powers the coil. Most disposables — and every Deepkold device — use a rechargeable lithium cell. Deepkold uses a 650 mah rechargeable · usb-c that recharges over USB-C, so the device lasts the full liquid capacity instead of dying with juice still left. It's draw-activated, so there's no firing button: you just inhale, tuned for an MTL (mouth-to-lung) draw and rated for up to 15,000 puffs (boost mode ~7,500).
Which vapes have no nicotine, and how to tell
Not many disposables are built nicotine-free from the start — most brands sell their flagship lines with nicotine and offer "0%" only as an afterthought, if at all. A genuine nicotine-free vape is one where the entire e-liquid is formulated without nicotine, not a high-nicotine recipe with the nicotine dialed down. Deepkold is built the first way: every device is 0% nicotine, no tobacco, across all three vape lines.
How to tell what is in a vape
Read the device and the listing. A trustworthy product states the nicotine level clearly (here, "0% (zero nicotine)"), names the base (PG/VG) and flavoring, and lists the hardware — e-liquid capacity, coil type and battery. If a listing hides the nicotine figure or won't say what's in the liquid, that's a reason to be cautious. Everything in a Deepkold device is spelled out in plain language, which is the whole reason this guide exists.
The honest, "healthiest" framing
We get the search for "the healthiest vape without nicotine," and we'll answer it honestly: no vape is healthy, and removing nicotine doesn't make one so. What a nicotine-free vape genuinely removes is the one addictive ingredient — so you avoid building a nicotine habit. That's a real difference, but it isn't a health claim, and we won't dress it up as one.
Pricing, availability and how to order
If the ingredient list checks out and you want to try one, here's the practical side. Deepkold nicotine-free disposables are $15.99 each (list $22.99), available across all three occasion lines, and they ship across the US from our US fulfillment center. Free US shipping on orders over $80.
- Polar Ice / Frost — the coldest, most energizing line; seven frost-forward flavors. See Polar Ice →
- Deep Calm — soft, low-chill flavors for the wind-down. See Deep Calm →
- Signature — the all-day crowd-pleasers, eight pure-flavor disposables. See Signature →
Deepkold sells to adults 21 and older only, with age verification at checkout. Browse the full flavor list to see how each "ice," fruit and dessert profile is built, or head straight to the nicotine-free vape collection to pick a line.
That's the full picture of what is in a nicotine-free vape: a thin PG carrier, a thicker VG cloud base, food-grade flavoring on top, zero nicotine and no tobacco, all heated by a mesh coil inside an atomizer and powered by a rechargeable battery. Short list, plainly stated — exactly how it should be.