Aromatherapy Vapes?
Let’s talk for a minute about the new trend of vape-like aromatherapy products, like FÜM and MONQ. I’ll share my thoughts, and I’d love to hear yours. I became aware of this growing trend recently (thanks Cristina Cortesi!) and decided to look into it a bit more, as they’re giving off serious aim-young JUUL 1.0 marketing vibes.
The basic idea of these devices is that they deliver essential oil diffusion directly to an individual, as opposed to generally into the air of an environment. Theoretically, this is done by someone inhaling from the device into their mouth/throat, but not into their lungs, and then breathing out through the nose. This allows for you to taste and smell the oils, but (when done correctly) not inhale them.
Different brands use different delivery methods. FÜM, for example, soaks essential oils into a polyester core, and then you just inhale through that core. MONQ, on the other hand, uses a vape-like delivery system, combining the oils with vegetable glycerin and then heating them to create a vapor.
There are certain things I can appreciate about this (as compared to vaping and smoking), but other things I don’t like. Let’s start with the positive:
There’s no nicotine here, so it’s not physiologically addictive
If someone is using the devices as intended and not inhaling into their lungs, you’re not getting the same level of chemical exposure
There is some initial evidence that certain types of aromatherapy (delivered in a more traditional fashion) can help with smoking cessation, as well as potentially other benefits. Here’s a review
In terms of the negative:
These are not regulated products, so what’s actually in them may not be reflective of the labels
I can see it as very possible that many users will end up inhaling a non-zero amount into their lungs, particularly new users. Safety implications about this largely unknown
For companies making claims related to smoking cessation or other health benefits, they clearly overgeneralize and apply those claims to all their products, despite those products having different oils and delivery systems than the ones used in the studies
Brands that use vape-like delivery systems run into the same pyrolysis (thermal degradation) safety issues that vapes do. For example, a percentage of vegetable glycerin (which is used in MONQ) is converted into formaldehyde when vaped. The flavors and bases in vape liquid convert into literally thousands of chemicals – a very informative study on this was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology at the end of 2021
There was a solid, concise overview of risks around inhalable aromatherapy products published in Toxicological Sciences about a year ago – it’s worth reading.
So…my opinion on this as a whole:
I don’t like that it’s often being marketed young and with misleading scientific and health claims – this feels very much like déjà vu with vaping
At first blush, individualized aromatherapy does appear to have less propensity for harm than vaping and smoking – assuming (and this is a big assumption) that the products aren’t contaminated and are used as directed (i.e., not inhaled)
The fact that these products can be potentially inhaled, are unregulated, and have no minimum age for purchase seems like a recipe for trouble
A teen or young-adult’s health is still going to be much better off if they choose to avoid putting unregulated compounds into their mouth, throat, and lungs
What’s your take? I’d love to discuss with you – please add to the discussion on my LinkedIn post here.