If you thought popcorn lung was the only thing you needed to worry about when vaping, think again. A new UK study reckons the mouthpiece of a disposable vape can get 3,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat. Yep. The thing you put in your mouth. Repeatedly.

Stunning stuff for the old gag reflex.

The scientists at BioLabTests teamed up with a nicotine retailer to swab a strawberry-ice Lost Mary vape over two weeks, checking it when it was fresh out of the wrapper, then at daily and weekly intervals. What they found was basically a microbial Dunedin flat forming at a surprising space.

By day three, the germs were partying harder than a uni hall in O-Week. They found everything from normal skin bugs to E. coli and Enterococcus - the kind of bacteria usually linked to emergency defecation situations, if you know what I mean. 

The scientists reckon the warm, moist mouthpiece is a breeding ground for microbes, which makes sense when you consider all the places your vape goes (and gets lost). 

Some of these nasties even start forming biofilms, which is like when germs unionise and become harder to get rid of.

So, what’s the fix? Honestly… just clean the bloody thing. Experts suggest giving your vape a once-over with an alcohol wipe or antibacterial cloth every few days. Doesn’t matter if it’s a flash reusable or a $14 dairy special - if it goes in your mouth, it deserves better than what you're currently doing.

Sure, vaping is often pitched as the “less bad” sibling of smoking, but this study highlights a different issue entirely - not nicotine, not chemicals, but pure, unfiltered grot.

In short: If you're the 'where's my vape?' friend, you better be investing in some anti-bacterial wipes. Otherwise, you might as well be pashing a public toilet seat.