Vape Pen Makes You Cough? Here’s What You Can Do

Smoothness is one of the main benefits of using a vape pen with concentrates instead of smoking your favorite herb. Vaping means that you’re not inhaling smoke or random plant bits, both of which can be extremely irritating to the throat – so switching from smoking to vaping should definitely make you cough less. 

Although vaping normally gives you a much smoother experience than smoking, there’s still some potential for harshness – partially because of the intense heat produced by your device’s atomizer coil and partially because it’s possible to configure or use your device incorrectly. There’s no need to worry, though – if your vape pen makes you cough, most of the causes are very easy to fix.

So, does vaping make you cough? We’ll walk you through all of the possible solutions.

Change Your Inhaling Style

If you want to cure a cough from vaping, the first thing you need to understand is that the correct inhaling techniques for vaping and smoking are very different from one another. Whether you’re using oil or dabs, the material that you’re is very potent – and you might feel overwhelmed if you inhale a giant lungful. If you’re inhaling the vapor directly to your lungs, try a mouth-to-lung inhaling pattern instead. If you’re already doing that, try “sipping” the vapor in much smaller puffs. You’ll get to where you want to go either way – it’ll just take a few more puffs to do it.

Lower Your Device’s Voltage

Are you using a push-button vape pen? If you are, it’s very likely that your device has adjustable voltage. It might have separate adjustment buttons like our Jetstream vaporizer, or it may use a single fire button for all functions. If it has a single fire button, you can probably change the voltage by clicking the button either two or three times. When the voltage changes, the color of the device’s indicator light will change as well. 

The reason why many vape pens have adjustable voltage is because different vape cartridges work best at different power levels. Having the ability to change your device’s voltage means that you can get the ideal performance with any cart, but it also means that you can potentially use your device at a power level the cartridge can’t support. 

If your device’s voltage is too high, you’ll notice an intolerable harshness when vaping, either right at the beginning of your puff or halfway through a long puff. The harshness is a sign that your cartridge’s coil is vaporizing the oil so fast that it’s overheating. Lowering the voltage will fix the problem.

Try Adding a Bubbler to Your Vape Pen

Did you know that you can use a silicone adapter to connect almost any vape pen to a water pipe or bubbler? To make it even easier for you to enjoy water filtration, many of our vaporizers either come with compatible bubblers or have bubblers built in. 

So, what’s the big deal about using a bubbler if vaping makes you cough? When you use a bubbler, the vapor passes through water before you inhale it. The water removes any minute particles that might be in the vapor – which is particularly useful if you’re dabbing – and it also noticeably reduces the harshness because it provides instant cooling. If you know that you’re doing everything right but still cough every time you vape, a bubbler could be exactly what you need.

If You’re Dabbing, Make Sure the Wax Is Softened

Are you using a dab pen for the first time? If so, it’s important to understand how to use your device because you can’t just drop the wax on your coil and start inhaling. If the wax isn’t softened and evenly distributed over the coil, the coil will overheat. The vapor will be incredibly harsh, and you’ll almost definitely cough. The solution? Melt the wax before you inhale.

To melt the wax when using a dab pen, put a little wax on the coil and either press the fire button a few times or take a few quick puffs without inhaling. Before taking a deeper puff, remove your dab pen’s mouthpiece and check the coil to confirm that the wax is melted.

If You’re Using a Cartridge, Make Sure It Isn’t Dry

Using an oil cartridge is a great way to vape because vape carts are mainly self-explanatory – just attach a cartridge to your device and inhale. If you’re filling your own cartridge, though, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing it correctly. Specifically, you should always wait about a half hour before vaping when you fill a new cartridge. That’s because the oil is very thick and requires time to absorb into the cartridge’s ceramic core.

Are you using a vape battery with recessed threading like the CCELL® Silo? In that case, you need to keep a close eye on your cartridge because a vape pen that hides your cartridge will often have just a small window that allows you to check on your oil supply. In some cases, your device may not have a window at all, so you’ll need to remove the cartridge periodically to check it. If your cartridge is empty, you’ll get an extremely harsh hit – so don’t let that happen.

Check for a Clogged Cartridge

The final common reason why vaping might make you cough is because your cartridge is clogged. This can happen for two reasons, and both reasons can lead to coughing because they cause the coil in your cartridge to overheat. Here are the two main reasons for a clogged cartridge and how to fix them.

  • Air bubbles can form around the openings leading to the cartridge’s ceramic core. In most cases, you can break the bubbles by tapping the cartridge against your hand a few times or by flicking it with your fingernail.
  • A vape cartridge can also clog in very cool ambient temperatures because of the viscosity of the oil. You can warm the cartridge by holding it between your hands or by placing it in front of a heater vent for a few minutes. Your vape pen may also have an automatic preheating function that you can enable by clicking the fire button.