Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice. All statements are merely the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to vapes or aromatherapy diffusers.
Burst Bar is a disposable aromatherapy diffuser that can be inhaled directly into the lungs or used simply for its scent. The brand suggests their product causes “improved energy and focus,” and suggests that it can fight fatigue.
But is it actually healthy to inhale vaporized vitamins? What other ingredients are in Burst Bars besides vitamin B12? Is this dangerous? And are Burst Bars better or worse than popular vape products like Füm?
In this article, we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Burst Bar to give our take on whether or not this product can actually increase energy, and whether or not it's healthy.
We’ll also share our concerns about vitamin vapes, discuss the risk of side effects, and compare Burst Bars to other popular vaping products to pick our winners (and losers) in terms of healthiness.
Key takeaways:
- Severely lacking safety data on vaping vitamins
- Some additive ingredients are toxic
- We do not currently recommend Burst Bars
Is Vaping Vitamins Dangerous?
We want to be clear that Burst Bar doesn’t state on their website that their product needs to be directly inhaled into the lungs.
The company markets it to be used like a standard aromatherapy diffuser.
However, a cursory look at different forums of real users of this product like some subreddits suggests that the majority of customers inhale this product.
Our main concerns about Burst Bars relate to their inactive ingredients, as shown in the Cotton Candy flavor ingredients list below:
image source: https://shopburstbar.com/
This product contains flavoring additives and sweeteners among other ingredients.
A 2016 medical study documented that flavoring additives may induce inhalation toxicity from e-cigarettes.
We understand that Burst Bars does not brand itself as an e-cigarette, but this data still seems concerning for any flavor additives inhaled into the lungs.
Propylene glycol is clinically shown to damage cells in the airway, as we documented in our review of Elf Bar flavors.
We haven’t seen any clinical evidence that other inactive ingredients like compound food sweetener are safe to inhale, nor does the brand cite any on their product page.
Overall, we would strongly advise consumers to speak with a doctor before directly inhaling this product, due to our questions around its safety.
In regard to the active ingredient, it is possible to absorb vitamin B12 via inhalation according to several clinical trials.
However, we can’t find any information on Burst Bar’s website indicating how much B12 is absorbed in a single “hit” or dose.
We also simply don't understand why anyone would want to inhale a vitamin, when an oral vitamin B12 supplement is cheap and has an excellent safety profile.
Overall, we do not currently recommend Burst Bars due to our health concerns over the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Is Vaping Worse Than Smoking?
A YouTube video from popular YouTube creator Levi Hildebrand discusses some potential health risks of vaping and has over 450,000 views:
Burst Bars vs. Popular Vapes
Here's how Burst Bars compare to popular vaping products in terms of healthiness, in our opinion:
Elf Bar
This brand uses similar inactive ingredients to Burst Bar, which we consider to be unhealthy.
The core differentiator is that Elf Bar has nicotine as an active ingredient, which is clinically shown to cause inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.
Burst Bar has the advantage from a health perspective.
Winner: Burst Bars
Füm
Füm is an essential oil vaping brand.
Essential oils are not meant to be inhaled directly into the lungs, and we consider the risk of an essential oil vape to be greater than the risk of a vitamin vape (though we consider both to be risky).
Burst Bar has the advantage from a safety perspective.
Winner: Burst Bars
Mushroom Disposable Vape
Unclear ingredient disclosures, and may have psychedelic effects depending on which mushrooms are used.
We have serious safety concerns over this brand.
Burst Bars is the safer choice in our view, because at least the ingredients are clearly published.
Winner: Burst Bars
To be clear, we do not currently recommend any of these products, or any vaping products, but this section provides a relative comparison due to consumer interest.
Burst Bar vs. Aromatherapy
We don’t see any advantages of Burst Bar over standard aromatherapy using an essential oil diffuser.
Some clinical studies show aromatherapy with essential oils to be effective for blood pressure reduction in hypertension, stress, depression and sleep according to a 2019 medical review.
Essential oils of ginger and eucalyptus may support immune function when delivered via aromatherapy according to a medical review published in the Molecules journal.
Why would anyone prefer to use a device that doesn’t appear to be clinically tested over a method that has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years and has clinical backing?
Another strong advantage of essential oil aromatherapy is the lack of questionable additive ingredients in most essential oil products. Typically a diffuser contains just filtered water and a small amount of essential oils.
As an example, this lavender oil product (non-affiliate link, we have no affiliation to this brand) that came up #1 in our Amazon search has one single ingredient: lavender oil. There are no flavorings, propylene glycol or sweeteners.
Burst Bars Pros and Cons
Pros:
- May be healthier than nicotine vapes
- Potentially safe if not inhaled
- Potentially safer than some competitor vape brands
Cons:
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- Propylene glycol is harmful to the lungs if inhaled
- Flavoring chemicals may be unhealthy to inhale
- Brand is described as aromatherapy but marketed as a vape
- Much more dangerous than traditional aromatherapy in our view
- Questionable efficacy compared to standard oral vitamins
