Aug 4, 2021

Do E-Cigarettes Smell Like Cigarettes?

By Elina Panayotova

Cigarette smoke smells. This is something that smokers and non-smokers alike can agree on. However, if you’re thinking of switching from smoking cigarettes to vaping, you might be wondering whether e-cigarettes smell too. Or perhaps you’re already vaping but are curious to know if the people around you can smell it. Either way, it’s a natural question to be asking.

Do e-cigarettes smell? Let’s take a look.

Why Do Cigarettes Produce a Smell?

Cigarettes can make a smoker’s breath, hair, clothes and home smell – but why?

When a cigarette is lit, the tobacco burns and nicotine is released. In this process, smoke is created, inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker. The burning of tobacco and chemicals produces a strong smell.

While smokers may not mind the smell – or even notice it – it’s not uncommon for other people to be less keen. This might be because cigarette smoke lingers, particularly when smoking indoors.

Does Vaping Produce a Smell?

It’s difficult to compare the smell of e-cigarettes to the smell of cigarette smoke. It wouldn’t be true to say that e-cigarettes don’t produce a smell, but the smell is often reflective of the flavour of the e-liquid and doesn’t linger as cigarette smoke does. Instead, the vapour breaks down and disappears and doesn’t take as long to do so. This is because vapour dissipates much quicker than the dense smoke from cigarettes.

With vaping, there are a number of different e-liquids available, all of which have their own unique flavours. These flavours will be the taste that comes through the e-cigarette, and often, will lead to a cloud of vapour that smells similar to the flavour of the e-liquid. When vaping, there’s no ash, and as you’re not burning tobacco, the ‘smoke’ smell associated with cigarettes isn’t generated.

When tobacco is burned and smoke is released, the smell can linger, settling on surfaces like walls, curtains, furniture, and clothes. When vaping or using heated tobacco, things are a little different. Like e-cigarettes, the heated tobacco device IQOS does not burn tobacco and therefore produces no smoke. IQOS produces less smell than cigarettes and leaves less lingering smell on hands, hair and clothes than cigarettes.

Can You Remove the Smell of Traditional Cigarettes?

It’s important to remember that stopping smoking entirely is always the best option. However, if you’re wondering how to get rid of the lingering smell of smoke, you’re in luck – there are ways to remove the smoke smell from your home, at least to a certain degree. For starters, smoking cigarettes outside, while preventing the lingering of smoke indoors, also poses less risk to the people around you by avoiding second-hand smoke.

It’s important to clean hard surfaces but be sure to wash soft furnishings too as smoke can settle on curtains and cushions. It’s also worth washing clothes (as you would normally do, anyway) and dry-cleaning your coats.

Hopefully, you should now have a better idea of whether e-cigarettes smell, but if you’d like to know more about the benefits of vaping, take a look at our guide.