Coffee inhalers similar to e-cigarettes are slowly creeping onto the market. Priced at around $8.99 for about 500 puffs, these disposable devices release about two milligrams of caffeine - considerably less than a regular cup of joe.
The vape contains ingredients like guarana, taurine and ginseng, described as "Red Bull for the lungs" according to the New York Times, and it is used exactly like e-cigarettes, which have a mechanism in a tube that turns chemicals to vapor.
However, medical experts are not amused by this latest trend, according to Time Magazine. These inhalers may contain stimulants and synthetic caffeine similar to energy drinks. As it is, many companies market energy drinks as dietary supplements and yet the effects of these mixture of ingredients to one's health have gone largely undetermined.
"The way our bodies handle caffeine that is inhaled can be very different from when caffeine is in our food or drink," Mary M. Sweeney from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine told Time. "Even if an inhaled product delivers the same dose of caffeine as a cup of coffee, it may have different subjective effects for people because the time-course might be different."
Meanwhile, the FDA has yet to clear coffee inhalers for safe use, despite an announcement back in 2013 that it was doing its investigation into products with added caffeine. Time said that no further update has been given regarding this investigation.
Before vaping caffeine became a trend, the FDA issued a warning against Breathable Foods Inc. for its AeroShot caffeine inhaler "for false or misleading statements in the labeling of their product." The FDA also questioned how safe the inhaler was, especially if children and teenagers were to use it alongside alcohol.
