Most e-cigarette users say they stick to one flavour category, and the majority of adults say they only use tobacco flavour. But what happens when your favourite loses its flavour? If you’ve ever found you’ve suddenly lost the taste from your vape, you might have what they call “Vaper’s Tongue”.
What is Vaper’s Tongue?
“Vaper’s Tongue”, or “Vaper’s Fatigue” is a condition where you suddenly and unexpectedly lose the ability to taste your e-liquid. It’s really common, with most people who vape experiencing it at some point. It usually lasts for a couple of days, but can continue for up to 2 weeks.
What causes it?
There are a few possible reasons you can get vapers tongue.
Flavour Fatigue – Smell can account for up to 70-90% of taste. Professional tasters have had their sense of smell taken away during tastings, and were shocked to find their sense of taste left them completely. Olfactory fatigue, or nose blindness, is where we become so accustomed to scents that we can’t distinguish them anymore. Our bodies become desensitized to familiar smells so as not to overload our sensory system.
So it makes sense that, over time, these combine to lead to a loss of taste with our e-cigarettes.
Dehydration & Tongue Fatigue – Most people have between 2000-8000 taste buds. Your sense of taste, called your gustatory sense, needs saliva to keep your taste buds working. Vaping can sometimes lead to ‘tongue fatigue’, which causes dry mouth. Without the moist environment needed to function properly, we can temporarily lose our sense of taste. It’s the same with dehydration – our taste buds can’t function properly when we have a dry mouth.
Smoking – We all know the health benefits of quitting smoking. But when you stop smoking cigarettes, your sense of taste can quickly return too.
Damaged taste buds – Lots of things can damage your taste buds, such as smoking, infections, very sour or very spicy foods, alcohol, and some medications. When your taste buds are damaged, your ability to taste decreases.
Blocked nose – as with olfactory fatigue, anything that hinders your ability to smell will affect your ability to taste. A blocked nose, allergies, or a cold can all affect how your vape tastes.
The E-liquid itself – how long has that bottle been tucked away at the back of your shelf or drawer? Dr Jacques Le Houezec says e-liquids can lose their flavours if stored for a long time. Whilst they’re still safe to use, that peppery flavour is the flavour of the nicotine, which lasts longer than the flavours in the juice. So it might be your e-liquid that’s the problem, rather than your sense of taste.
How can I fix it?
There are a few things you can do to get your sense of taste back on track. Try our tips:
1) Keep Hydrated
Drinking a glass of water every hour can help prevent dry mouth. According to Dr Reiter, dry mouth, however it’s caused, negatively affects your sense of taste. Stay hydrated so your taste buds can work as they should.
2) Try a stronger flavour
Maybe you’ve just become accustomed to the liquid you bought when you first started vaping, and it’s time to move on. For example, if you currently use iBreathe’s Menthol Premium Liquid for its light, refreshing flavours, try our Classic Menthol for a cool, minty taste.
3) Lemons
Wait – don’t dismiss this one. The sourness of a lemon takes care of your taste buds, simulating the salivary glands and almost re-setting your taste buds. You can add lemons to water, or some people suggest eating an actual lemon wedge. Alternatively, you can get your lemon hit from our premium e-liquids – try iBreathe’s Pink Lemon for a zingy and zesty vape, or Lush Lemon for a bold, citrusy flavour.
4) Menthol
Menthol is more than just a flavour. It doesn’t actually need smell or taste for you to perceive it – menthol activates thermoreceptors, which is why you can feel it on your skin or in your eyes. The cooling, refreshing effect of menthol might be just what you need. Like your fruit flavours too much? Try our ICE range, all your favourite flavours with a hit of mint for a unique, refreshing vape. Consider the iconic, cool Blueberry Slush, or get the benefits of both lemons and menthol with our Icy Lemon.
5) Stop smoking
Take the leap of moving over to vaping full time, and see how much it improves your life. It’ll help your sense of taste, your wallet, and it’s one of the best things you can do for your health.
6) Change your vape flavour
Most of us are loyal to one or two of our favourite flavours, but take this chance to try something new. If flavour fatigue is the problem, mixing it up will bring back the hits you miss from your vape – plus, you may find a new favourite. iBreathe has so many flavours from light, delicate refreshing liquids to those that pack a bold punch, it’d be a shame to never try a new one.
7) Keep Calm & Vape On
Your taste buds have a natural life cycle of 2 weeks, and in most cases you won’t even have to wait that long. If you’ve found the flavour you like and just want it back, hang on in there and it’ll reappear before you know it.
Remember, vaper’s tongue or vaper’s fatigue affect most of us at some point. You’re in safe hands with iBreathe, we’re one of the leading providers of e-cigarettes and e-liquids in the UK. A family run company, we pride ourselves on the high quality of our products, offering a clean and satisfying alternative to smoking.