17 Mar KASHRUT STATUES OF THE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES (VAPE)

Before addressing the
question of the
kosher status of
electronic cigarettes
(vapes), it is
necessary to first
understand what this
device is and how it
operates. Once the mechanism is clarified, the
halachic discussion can be approached more
properly.
At the outset, however, it should be noted that,
in truth, there would seem to be little reason to
engage in an extended discussion about
cigarettes at all. The severe dangers associated
with smoking and the significant harm it
causes to human health are already well
known and widely documented. Even if in
previous generations certain halachic
authorities permitted smoking, today—after
the dangers have become clearly established
and are no longer subject to serious doubt—it
is difficult to justify such leniency.
Electronic cigarettes fall within this same
concern, and in some respects may even pose
a greater risk than conventional cigarettes.
With regular cigarettes, a person typically
smokes a single cigarette and then stops until
the next one. With electronic cigarettes,
however, the device can be used continuously
throughout the day without interruption.
With this being said, we can now turn to the
substance of the discussion.
An electronic cigarette is a device that
produces vapor from a special liquid rather
than smoke from burning tobacco. The
process is based on heating and evaporation
rather than combustion, which is the
mechanism of a traditional cigarette.
How the Device Operates
When the user inhales or presses the activation
button, the following process occurs:
1. The battery sends an electrical current to
the coil.
2. The coil heats up rapidly, typically
reaching temperatures of approximately
100–250°C.
3. The liquid absorbed in the wick heats up
and turns into vapor.
4. The vapor travels through the device
toward the mouthpiece.
5. The user inhales the vapor into the lungs.
What Is Inside the Liquid
The vaping liquid (often called E-liquid)
usually consists of several components:
• Propylene Glycol (PG) – a thin liquid
that helps carry and enhance flavors.
• Vegetable Glycerin (VG) – a thicker
liquid that produces dense vapor clouds.
• Flavoring agents – various flavors such
as fruit, mint, tobacco, and others.
• Nicotine – present in many liquids at

varying concentrations, though nicotine-
free versions also exist.

• Vaping (Electronic Cigarettes) on
Passover

As explained above, an electronic cigarette
contains a liquid that, when the user inhales,
is heated and evaporated. The vapor then
travels through the device and reaches the
mouthpiece in the form of vapor that
resembles smoke.
This liquid raises several potential kashrut
concerns. These issues were discussed in
detail in the journal Omek HaPshat (Issue No.
206). What follows is a summary of the
relevant facts together with a clarification of
the halachic considerations.
The journal writes: “In electronic cigarettes
there are dozens, sometimes hundreds, of raw
materials that originate from many countries
around the world, and only a small number of
people truly know the full composition.
Among the substances commonly found are
nicotine, propylene glycol, glycol derivatives,
and polyethylene glycol. These materials
themselves do not present a kashrut concern.”
Glycerin
Glycerin (VG) is one of the primary
components responsible for producing the
vapor. In most electronic cigarettes the
glycerin used is plant-derived. However,
glycerin can also be produced from animal
sources, which would raise possible concerns
of non-kosher animal derivatives.
In addition, there is a theoretical concern that
vegetable glycerin might be produced in the

same facility that also manufactures animal-
derived glycerin, possibly using the same

steam systems or equipment. Nevertheless,
this concern appears relatively remote.
Flavoring Agents
Electronic cigarettes generally contain
approximately 4% flavoring compounds. This
percentage is significant and would not
normally be subject to nullification (bitul
b’shishim). Moreover, an ingredient that is
intentionally added to provide flavor is not
considered nullified, since its entire purpose
is for its taste to be perceived; the concept of
nullification applies only when the taste is
effectively lost.
Another possible concern is that alcohol may
be mixed into the flavoring agents, and that
this alcohol could theoretically originate from
non-Jewish wine. Yet this too is considered a
minority possibility and not a common
occurrence.
The publication also cites the opinion of the
kashrut expert Rabbi Yosef Zaritsky, who
maintains that electronic cigarettes present no
kashrut concern at all and may be used
lechatchilah on Passover, since they contain
only natural substances alongside chemical
compounds that are themselves toxic and not
edible.
The Halachic Discussion of Inhaling the
Vapor
We now turn to the halachic questions
involved in inhaling these vapors. Clearly, the
entire discussion is relevant only in a case
where the liquid indeed contains a potentially
prohibited substance, something that depends
on the realities of the manufacturing process,

as explained above. The primary discussion
revolves around two aspects: taste and vapor
(zeiah).
The Taste of the Liquid
I have seen several halachic authorities who
discuss the laws relating to vaping; however, I
have not found anyone who addresses the
droplets that are sometimes expelled from
electronic cigarettes. This phenomenon is
fairly common.
These droplets are essentially the very liquid
contained in the device’s reservoir. If the
liquid itself originates from a prohibited
source, it would appear obvious that
swallowing such droplets cannot be permitted.
Users, however, claim that the taste of these
droplets is unpleasant, and therefore they
immediately expel them once they enter the
mouth. Based on this they should be permitted,
since a spoiled taste does not render a mixture
prohibited. As the Shulchan Aruch rules (Y.
D. 103:1): “Any substance whose taste is
spoiled does not prohibit a mixture. Even if
the taste is not intrinsically spoiled—so that
on its own it is flavorful and desirable—but it
spoils the mixture, it is permitted.”
Even if the defect in taste is only slight, it
would still not prohibit the mixture, as the
Shulchan Aruch further explains (ibid., sec.
2): “This defect need not be so severe that one
would find the food completely repulsive;
even if it spoils the taste somewhat, it does not
prohibit the mixture.”
Below, we will address whether the principle
of achshevei applies when a person
intentionally introduces this taste into his
mouth.
The Vapor of the Liquid
We must now examine the vapor that emerges
from the vape device at the time of inhalation.
In the terminology of the Sages, vapor is
referred to as zeiah (steam). The Rosh
(Responsa, 20:26) was asked whether it is
permitted to place a pan containing milk on a
stove beneath a pot of meat. He ruled that the
pot becomes prohibited, because the steam
rising from the pan has the same halachic
status as the milk itself. His ruling was
codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Y. D. 92:8).
Accordingly, the vapor produced from the
liquid in an electronic cigarette should
likewise be prohibited. Although the halachic
authorities debate whether the vapor of solid
food is considered like the food itself—as
discussed in Pitchei Teshuvah (ibid., §6)—
with respect to the vapor of liquids, there is
broad agreement that it retains the status of
the liquid itself.
The distinction between conventional
cigarettes and electronic cigarettes is
significant. With conventional cigarettes, the
user inhales smoke, which is generally
regarded as merely deriving benefit from the
substance. By contrast, with an electronic
cigarette the user inhales vapor produced
from heated liquid, and this may have the
halachic status of eating, or at the very least
tasting, a prohibited substance.

The reason is that the device operates by
heating the liquid until it evaporates, after
which the user inhales the resulting vapor.
Since this vapor is generated directly from the
heated liquid and carries its substance, it is
considered halachically equivalent to the
liquid itself.
Although the liquid in the reservoir may be
unpleasant as it exists there, once it emerges
in the form of vapor its flavor improves and
becomes more palatable. This situation is no
different from a spoiled prohibited substance
that later regains a pleasant taste, which
remains forbidden (ibid. 103:2).
Even if one were to classify this substance as
“spoiled,” according to the lenient view
mentioned above it would still not be
permissible to place such a prohibited
substance into one’s mouth, for the very act of
eating demonstrates that the person considers
it significant, as written by the Rosh.
Moreover, the halachic authorities prohibit
even tasting a forbidden substance with the
tongue and immediately spitting it out.
If so, one must ask: how could vaping be
permitted, when its taste is pleasant, when the
vapor is drawn deep into the throat rather than
merely touched to the tongue, and when, in
many cases, some of it is actually swallowed?
Rulings of the Halachic Authorities
Most halachic authorities have ruled that
electronic cigarettes should not be used on
Passover. Among those who have prohibited
them are R. Moshe Shaul Klein, R. Mordechai
Gross, R. Menachem Lubin, and R. Azriel
Auerbach, as cited in the pamphlet Mitzot
HaPesach.
Similarly, the major kashrut organization
Chicago Rabbinical Council has advised that
one should purchase only vape products that
carry reliable kosher certification, since the
liquid may contain problematic ingredients
such as glycerin and flavoring compounds.
R. Moshe Sternbuch likewise addressed the
issue in a letter (published in Assia 113, p.
102):
“Regarding electronic cigarettes: I agree with
his reasoning that since they contain flavoring
extracts with pleasant taste which are heated
and transformed into vapor that enters the
mouth, and the user senses the taste of the
vapor, and since vapor (zeiah) is halachically
considered like the substance itself, this is
comparable to tasting the actual material.
Therefore one should use only an electronic
cigarette that bears proper kosher certification,
ensuring that there is no concern of prohibited
ingredients in its components.”
In contrast, several authorities have adopted a
more lenient position, among them R. Asher
Weiss and R. Rubin.