Can exposure to oxygen cause nicotine levels in e-liquids to drop? The answer is yes and no. Technically bottled e-liquids that are used for open cartridges and re-fillable tanks used with devices can go bad. This is fairly easy to avoid, because most e-liquids have an expiration date and maintain shelf lives of 1 to 2 years easily. When past the listed expiration date, the quality of e-liquids becomes questionable. Also, the ways such products are stored and cared for can diminish the e-liquid's strength.

What Can Cause This to Happen Then?

Here are the main problems caused by improper storage and oxygen exposure for e-liquids on the market today. Hopefully this information will be helpful to readers and retailers out there.

General Storage Problems

Most quality e-juice manufacturers package their products in tinted glass bottles or unicorn-shaped bottles, this is to avoid contamination and provides extended shelf life. Still, general storage is important with all e-liquid products, because their flavors are very susceptible to heat exposure and various chemical reactions. Leaving e-liquids exposed to direct sunlight is a particularly bad idea. Even leaving such products in bright light can have adverse effects on the nicotine concentration and cause flavoring to evaporate.

In the very least, such exposures can cause a breakdown of the e-liquid’s elements, thus causing permanent sedimentation. Such sedimentation does diminish the nicotine levels somewhat and spoils the e-liquids more rapidly. While this isn’t highly dangerous, it does make the product ruined for general usage and should be thrown away.

Best way to avoid general storage problems is to keep e-liquids dark and cool (at standard room temperature) storage place, as a drawer, box, or shelf will do just fine.

Oxygen Exposure Problems

Most quality vape manufacturers sell their products using air sealed packaging, ensuring their bottled e-juices or pre-filled disposable carts will stay fresh longer. Exposure to the air has adverse effects on e-liquids of all kinds. Such exposure causes oxidation, a process that begins when air comes in contact with any e-liquid. The liquids begin to oxidize, which means spoiling and decaying occurs.

Although this process generally takes a long time period, users should avoid leaving bottles open for any amount of time unnecessarily. Again, a properly sealed e-liquid bottle or cartridge can last well over a year or more, but an opened one should last slightly less than a year in a properly stored environment.

Oxidation causes e-liquid flavors and colors to change over time, this is indicated by a darker shade of color in the product tint. There can be a change in odor, but this is less likely to occur in normal storage circumstances. Some users think that oxygen exposure causes e-liquid nicotine levels to diminish or drop. There’s no evidence to support the idea that oxygen exposure drops or diminishes nicotine content in e-liquids, but overly oxidized products will usually taste bad and should not be used.

So, can exposure to oxygen cause nicotine levels in e-liquids to drop? In reality, this is not true. Open air exposure causes the e-liquid flavors to go bad, long before loss of nicotine strength would ever happen. It is exposure to light or high temperatures that causes nicotine levels to diminish. Even products slightly past their labeled date of expiration should not be harmful or lose their overall potency. Still the best idea is to always keep your bottles sealed tightly and stored in a cool dark place, but also check their freshness by observing the expiration dates.

Our Final Thoughts on This

It is very common for users to become misinformed about products and their usage in the open marketplace. The idea that oxygen exposure causes nicotine levels to drop in bottled e-liquids or a pre-filled cart is one such modern myth, so don't believe the hype. Do your research, when buying any product online today. This will keep your choices well informed as a consumer and self-assured as a buyer, no matter what you’re shopping for in the global marketplace.