Like all new things, vape devices are regarded with a lot of mistrust by the general public, and letting out even a small puff in a public space can often draw the ire of bystanders. So, even though vaping is much safer in terms of second-hand smoke, we are still often asked to refrain from doing so in workplaces and in other spaces.
And that’s where stealth vaping and zero vaping come in. As the terms imply, these techniques are meant to cover the fact that you are smoking an e-cigarette and instead make it look as if you are just holding your hand in front of your face, listening in on a conversation, or reading something.
The techniques we’ll explore below focus on smoking without producing a large cloud of vapor, coughing, or drawing any unwanted attention to your vape device. So, how to zero a vape, what are the 5 best stealth vaping techniques, and when not to try zero vaping?
What is stealth vaping and how to zero a vape?
There isn’t just one way to stealth vape as virtually every trick that conceals the vape pen in your hand and only produces a small amount of vapor that’s unnoticeable to those around you can be considered stealth vaping.
Zero vaping is arguably the most effective but also the hardest stealth vaping technique, and, as such, it requires quite a bit of extra practice. So, let’s work our way up to it by first going over some of the simpler stealth vaping tricks and techniques:
1. Longer inhalation
This is the simplest and least “stealthy” of the stealth vaping methods. It simply involves taking longer hits and holding them in for a few seconds before a slow exhale. To do this, it’s best to use small vapes, typically not much larger than ordinary pocket flash drives. Naturally, you’d also want to avoid flashy things such as vapes with LED lights and so on but all that applies to the other methods below too.
What you’d want to do is bring the vape to your lips, fire up the vape liquids, and pull a deep inhale. Then, discreetly bring down the vape and hold the smoke in your lungs for a few seconds. The idea here is that holding the smoke for a bit will enable a bit of condensation which will reduce the amount of smoke you’ll eventually have to exhale.
The side benefit is that you’ll also get a better nicotine sensation.
2. Short but deep vaping
Similar to the above, you’d want to use discreet and small devices and be careful when you take the hit. The difference here is that you’ll be taking smaller inhales to further minimize the smoke you’ll need to exhale later. Again, you’d want to hold the smoke in your lungs for a little bit to enable both condensation and a stronger sensation.
The benefit to this stealth vaping method as opposed to the above is that you can pretty much eliminate the visible smoke coming out. The negative is that you’ll need to bring the vape pen to your mouth more frequently – in some situations that may attract attention, in others – it won’t.
3. The shirt trick
For some methods, you’ll need more than just what’s in your vaping kit – you’ll also literally need the clothes you’re wearing. The shirt stealth vaping trick is very much what it sounds like – you’ll take your hit, preferably from a small and low-power device, and, after you’ve held it in for a while, you’ll discreetly exhale into your shirt.
The exact logistics of that can be done in many ways, depending on the type of shirt you’ve got on. Ideally, it will be something with a long sleeve and a high neck. Usually, you’d just want to carefully pull the neck up when you’re ready to exhale and then do so inside the shirt slowly and carefully.
There are numerous obvious pitfalls with this method so you’d do well to practice it at home first with each different shirt you plan on wearing outside. Some shirts may literally just start letting the vapor out through the knitting, the stitches, or other openings such as the sleeves or back through the neck.
The other issue is that if you vape too much and too quickly, you’ll get too smelly yourself which is not ideal. So, this method is only recommended for short vapes, only when you really need it, and only when you know you’ll be home soon anyway.
4. The paper towel trick
This method is virtually the same as the shirt trick but you’d be using a napkin instead. This is great as it won’t get your clothes as stinky and it won’t look as silly if you get caught. In fact, it can even look sort of dignified. Most paper towels will also absorb a big part of the fragrance, further making your vaping stealthier.
The issue here is that using paper towels isn’t always suitable for the situation – doing so in a restaurant can seem normal but in a workplace meeting or outside and can stick out. Either way, you’ll still want to hold the smoke in your lungs for a bit before exhaling to further minimize the noticeable vapor when exhaling.
5. The zero vaping method
For those who want to be as clandestine as possible when vaping, the zero-vape method is the way to go but it needs some practice. What you’d want to do is:
- Take a small puff only, preferably from a small vape pen that’s easily concealed within your hand.
- Hold it in your mouth for a couple of seconds without inhaling it deeper for now.
- Inhale a bit of air through the nose and mouth, still not exhaling the smoke, and get it all into your lungs.
- Repeat a couple more times – first a light puff, then inhale air.
- By now, your chest should be somewhat expanded from all the air and vapor in your lungs. When you’re ready, start slowly exhaling it all through your pursed lips – there should be no noticeable smoke coming out, just clean air.
Effectively, the trick to zero a vape is to get clean air in with the vape to dilute it while still getting enough vape to feel the nicotine hit. This can be a hassle but it is discreet, especially if you are stealthy enough with your hand movements.
When to and when not to zero vape?
While using vapers was basically free everywhere about a decade ago, nowadays lots of places have restrictions for vape products that are pretty much as tough as the ones for traditional cigarettes. What’s more, different countries, states, counties, and cities often have different rules which further makes it complicated for e-liquid smokers.
This often unnecessary overcomplication is why we often just start stealth vaping anywhere we are, just in case, but it’s also why we should often be careful and not vape at all in certain places.
The locations where vaping is most often prohibited – again, depending on the country and state you’re in – include:
- Government property grounds
- Hospitals
- Schools
- Public transportation
- Airplanes
- Theaters
- And others
While being able to zero a vape well can keep you safe on occasion in such places, it’s still not a smart idea to try it as no stealth vaping method is 100% guaranteed to work. When we recommend zero vaping that’s not for the purpose of smoking in hospitals where it’s forbidden to do so but merely for discretely smoking without inconveniencing others in public and allowed spaces.
Naturally, from the smoker’s point of view, the need to hide your vaping in public and allowed spaces often feels unnecessary. Neither the smoke nor the vapor flavor in the air feels like a big deal to us.
From the point of view of a non-smoker, however, having clouds of smoke all over the room or a strong vape smell in the restaurant is often intolerable. Besides, second-hand vaping isn’t as harmless as some make it out to be as there is still nicotine in there. So, even when it isn’t illegal to vape in a certain place, stealth vaping or zero vaping is still often a good idea, even just for the purpose of avoiding conflicts.
In conclusion
Stealth vaping and zero vaping are the types of things we wish we didn’t have to do but we often need to in order to avoid unnecessary drama and conflicts outside or at the workplace. There are good ways to zero vape and bad ways, however, so it’s important to get some practice at home before you try to do it in an office meeting, or else you might get a warning or worse.
Still, once you get the hang of it, stealth and zero vaping can become so easy and effortless that you might often catch yourself doing it even when you don’t need to – just out of habit!
