Does Vaping Make You Poop?

Needing to poop after vaping is much more common than you might think. If you’ve wondered if vaping can make you poop, the short answer is yes. Also called “vooping,” the sudden urge to go after vaping is mainly due to the laxative effect of vaping nicotine.

Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, caffeine, and even eating a plain chocolate bar can all cause you to feel like you need to go. This reaction occurs because of the way stimulants work in the body, causing muscle contractions that, in this case, can cause a bowel movement. 

What are Laxatives?

Laxatives are substances known for loosening your bowels and causing contractions to help you go number two. Most of the time, people use them for constipation problems. However, many things we consume have some form of a laxative effect. 

Your body reacts to laxatives in different ways depending on the type of laxative you use. Four kinds of laxatives exist, and all of them aim for the acceleration of bowel movements and relieve constipation. All laxative effects target your bowels, causing an acceleration in the need to poop. 

Stimulant laxatives are the type of laxatives found in nicotine. These laxatives stimulate the muscles in your gut and make it easier to pass stool through your digestive system. 

They usually take between 6-10 hours to work. However, the amount of time depends on several factors, such as a person’s body chemistry. One person may need to poop only a couple of hours after consuming the drug, while others may never quite feel that nicotine affects their bowels. 

How Does Vaping Make You Poop?

Nicotine itself is known as a stimulant laxative. These kinds of laxatives cause a bowel contraction that pushes stool through the digestive system, making you feel like you need to go. People feel nicotine has a similar effect and laxative properties as other common stimulants, like caffeine and sugar.  

It doesn’t matter what form of nicotine consumption you use, whether you’re smoking cigarettes, doing more traditional tobacco smoking, vaping, or using chew. Nicotine delivery in the body is in the bloodstream, so when you ingest it, it spreads everywhere.

As a stimulant, nicotine can cause contractions of the large intestine and digestive tract, which could lead to a bowel movement. Smoking is the fastest delivery system, as nicotine is picked up with oxygen in the lungs and delivered around the body. This reason is why the “need to go” effect comes on so quickly. 

Consuming e-liquids can also affect your bowel movements if they have nicotine. However, while smoking nicotine-free juices provide no actual stimulant, the fluid itself can have laxative properties. 

Propylene glycol is a common food additive that helps increase food shelf life and bind ingredients together. It’s also a common additive or base for e-liquid. By itself, the compound is an occasional constipation reliever. 

More commonly used as an e-liquid base, vegetable glycerin also has its own laxative properties. Typically used as a suppository medicine, vegetable glycerin draws water into your gut, possibly causing weight gain and softening your stools.

FAQs

How Does Vaping Affect Your Gut?

The chemicals you ingest when vaping can affect your digestive tract negatively. They can break down the junctions between cells in your gut, leading to common issues such as chronic inflation, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, and worsening Crohn’s disease. You could also gain weight. 

Researchers have not done adequate research on how nicotine and smoking or vaping affect Crohn’s disease. In a small study, nicotine improved common symptoms. However, they haven’t been able to draw a clear conclusion around the study or the safest methods for ingesting nicotine. 

Can You Avoid The Urge to Go?

Nicotine affects everyone’s body differently, depending on pre-existing conditions, body size, and overall health. If it’s a common experience for you to need the bathroom after vaping, you’re likely more sensitive to nicotine and stimulants than others. 

If smoking or vaping makes you feel like you need to go, try using a nicotine-free juice or quitting. If you do decide to quit smoking, be aware that a major symptom that will pop up is nicotine withdrawal. To avoid the headaches and withdrawal symptoms, try weaning off and using patches or gum to curb the urge.

Conclusion

Consuming nicotine can cause you to feel like you need to poop. If you aren’t using nicotine in your vape, the type of e-liquid you’re using may be causing those feelings. 

In general, smoking and vaping aren’t good for your gut, and if you already have problems in those areas, it can make them worse. Also, remember that using nicotine is not a good way to relieve blockages, and the feeling of needing to go is more of a side effect than a solution to constipation.