Vape juice, also called e-liquid, sits at the center of the electronic nicotine product market. The available data spans ingredient composition, flavor variety, market revenue, youth use, and retail unit sales. These figures cover different populations and periods, so each statistic is presented with its measurement date and geography.
Contents
- What vape juice contains
- Ingredient and flavor composition
- Flavor variety and chemical findings
- The global and U.S. e-liquid markets
- Youth e-cigarette and flavor statistics
- U.S. e-cigarette sales trends
What vape juice contains
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS, use an e-liquid that usually contains nicotine derived from tobacco. The FDA also lists flavorings, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin as ingredients usually found in e-liquid. The agency regulates e-liquids as ENDS components or parts.
The FDA’s description provides a useful baseline: vape juice is not a single standardized formula. Its usual components include a nicotine source, flavorings, and liquid carriers, but the exact formulation can vary by product. The FDA also says vape shops that mix or prepare liquid nicotine or nicotine-containing e-liquids may be considered manufacturers.
The FDA’s Authorized E-Cigarettes page lists 45 e-cigarettes authorized by the agency. That number concerns authorized e-cigarette products, not the total number of vape juice flavors or all products available in a market.
Ingredient and flavor composition
A 2021 analysis reported by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) identified 219 unique ingredients in e-liquids reported in more than 100 products. Of those ingredients, 213 were flavorings. Across the products analyzed, the mean number of flavorings per e-liquid was 10, with a standard deviation of 15, and 25 flavorings appeared in at least 10% of all products.
The same WUR-reported analysis found that, on average, 63% of the ingredients within one e-liquid were flavorings. The share varied by flavor category: candy-flavored e-liquids were 75% flavorings by ingredient count on average, while nut-flavored e-liquids were 23% flavorings by ingredient count on average. The median concentration of total flavorings was 28.0 milligrams per 10 milliliters.
| Ingredient or finding | Result | Measurement context |
|---|---|---|
| Glycerol | 94% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
| Nicotine | 88% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
| Propylene glycol | 86% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
| Water | 45% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
| Ethanol | 23% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
| Triacetin | 15% | Present in e-liquids analyzed by WUR |
Among the flavorings identified in that analysis, vanillin was present in 35.2% of the total set of e-liquids, ethyl maltol in 32.0%, and ethyl butyrate in 28.4%. Menthol had the highest median concentration at 18.4 milligrams per 10 milliliters. Benzaldehyde had the lowest median concentration reported among the comparison, at 0.3 milligrams per 10 milliliters.
These results describe the analyzed products and should not be read as a formula for every vape juice. They do show how frequently common base ingredients and selected flavorings appeared within that study’s product set.
Flavor variety and chemical findings
The market’s flavor variety has been measured in several ways. An NCBI Bookshelf review reported that more than 7,000 unique e-liquid flavors were available on the market. A 2014 report cited in a PMC review counted 7,764 unique flavor names available online, 466 brands selling e-liquid flavors, and 242 new flavors added per month.
Chemical analyses have also used smaller samples. One study of 28 e-cigarette liquids from seven manufacturers found 141 flavor chemicals in the samples. In another analytical study of 30 e-cigarette fluids, total flavor chemicals were found in the range of 1% to 4%, equivalent to 10 to 40 milligrams per milliliter. In that same 30-fluid study, labeled nicotine levels ranged from 0.6% to 2.4%, or 6 to 24 milligrams per milliliter.
The different sample sizes and methods matter. The 28-liquid study and the 30-fluid study are analytical snapshots, while the larger flavor counts describe names, brands, or products available during the periods covered by their respective sources. They are not interchangeable measures of the number of formulas currently sold.
The global and U.S. e-liquid markets
Grand View Research estimated global e-liquid revenue at USD 2.26 billion in 2024. Its forecast places the global market at USD 4.93 billion by 2030, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.0% from 2025 through 2030. North America accounted for 39.5% of global e-liquid revenue in 2024, and the tobacco flavor segment held a 31.7% revenue share that year.
Grand View Research estimated the U.S. e-liquid market at USD 779.4 million in 2024. The research firm projects USD 1,599.3 million by 2030 and a 12.8% CAGR from 2025 through 2030. The U.S. accounted for 34.5% of the global e-liquid market in 2024.
| Market measure | Global | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated 2024 revenue | USD 2.26 billion | USD 779.4 million |
| Projected 2030 revenue | USD 4.93 billion | USD 1,599.3 million |
| Projected CAGR, 2025–2030 | 14.0% | 12.8% |
| 2024 share noted by source | North America: 39.5% of global revenue | U.S.: 34.5% of global revenue |
The 2030 values are forecasts, not observed outcomes. The 2024 figures are estimates, and the revenue measures describe market size rather than the volume of e-liquid sold or the number of people using it.
Youth e-cigarette and flavor statistics
CDC and FDA findings from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey reported that 2.55 million U.S. middle and high school students currently used e-cigarettes. Current use was 9.4% overall: 14.1% among high school students and 3.3% among middle school students.
Among current youth e-cigarette users in 2022, 40.6% reported use on 1 to 5 days during the past 30 days, 17.1% reported use on 6 to 19 days, and 42.3% reported use on 20 to 30 days. Daily use was reported by 27.6% of current youth users.
Disposables were the device type most often used by 55.3% of current youth e-cigarette users. Prefilled or refillable pods or cartridges were most often used by 25.2%, and tanks or mod systems by 6.7%.
Flavor reporting differed by device type. Among current flavored pod or cartridge users, fruit was reported by 58.4%, menthol by 53.9%, candy, desserts, or other sweets by 30.3%, and mint by 27.6%. Among current flavored tank or mod users, fruit was reported by 69.6%, candy, desserts, or other sweets by 47.7%, mint by 40.1%, and menthol by 35.2%.
Brand responses also varied. Puff Bar was the brand most often used by 29.7% of current youth e-cigarette users, Vuse by 23.6%, JUUL by 22.0%, and SMOK including NOVO by 13.5%. Some other brand not listed was reported by 32.2%, while 28.3% were not sure or did not know the brand. For usual brand, Puff Bar was reported by 14.5% and Vuse by 12.5%.
The CDC reported that flavored e-cigarette products remained a major part of youth use in 2022: 84.9% of current youth users reported flavored products. This is a U.S. youth-use measure for 2022, not a measurement of all e-liquid consumers or all vape juice sales.
U.S. e-cigarette sales trends
CDC analysis published in 2023 found that total U.S. e-cigarette unit sales increased 46.6% from 15.5 million to 22.7 million units per four-week period between January 2020 and December 2022. A shorter interval showed a larger rise: sales increased 67.2% from 15.5 million to 25.9 million units per period between January 2020 and May 2022. From May to December 2022, sales decreased 12.3% to 22.7 million units per period.
The product mix shifted during January 2020 to December 2022. Prefilled cartridge unit share fell from 75.2% to 48.0%, while disposable e-cigarette unit share rose from 24.7% to 51.8%.
Flavor shares also changed. Menthol represented 32.3% of total e-cigarette unit sales in January 2020 and 31.9% in December 2022. From January 2020 to May 2022, tobacco flavor sales fell from 28.4% to 20.5%, mint sales fell from 10.1% to 5.6%, and other flavor sales rose from 29.2% to 40.8%.
An earlier CDC analysis measured additional periods. Total U.S. e-cigarette unit sales increased 122.2% from 7.7 million to 17.1 million units per four-week interval between September 2014 and May 2020. Between November 2016 and August 2019, sales increased 294.3% from 5.6 million to 22.0 million units per period. From August 2019 to February 2020, sales decreased 32.7% from 22.0 million to 14.8 million units per period.
That earlier analysis reported average interval percentage changes (AIPC) for selected categories. E-liquid sales had an AIPC of -5.8 from September 2014 to May 2020. Mint sales had an AIPC of 10.5 from September 2014 to August 2019 and -28.3 from August 2019 to May 2020. Menthol sales had an AIPC of 18.9, and tobacco sales an AIPC of 4.6, from August 2019 to May 2020. All other flavor sales had an AIPC of 2.0 from September 2014 to October 2018 and -5.9 from October 2018 to May 2020.
For prefilled cartridges, mint sales had an AIPC of 14.1 from September 2014 to August 2019 and -42.3 from August 2019 to May 2020. Prefilled cartridge menthol sales had an AIPC of 22.3, tobacco sales 6.1, and all other flavor sales 3.3 from August 2019 to May 2020. The all-other category had an AIPC of -18.1 from October 2018 to May 2020.
For disposable products, mint sales had an AIPC of 7.4, menthol -1.4, tobacco -1.5, and all other flavors 1.6 from September 2014 to May 2020. These historical sales measures describe changing U.S. unit-sales patterns across distinct periods; they do not by themselves identify the health effects of any ingredient, flavor, or device.