An Aromatherapists Thoughts on FÜM
I had first heard about FÜM back in 2020 when I joined the aromatherapy/holistic Instagram community. I remember thinking “wow that’s cool” then seeing a few stories of people dissatisfied with them and thinking “well this product is so dumb” and then never giving it the time of day again. I never looked into it more, or really dug into the company and what the product actually was.
So what is FÜM? It is essentially an essential oil inhaler, but unlike the inhalers that you load with a cotton wick and sniff you add a pre-loaded wick into a wooden tube and inhale by “smoking” or breathing in. It is advertised as a smoke free and vape free product however and the tube doesn’t heat up the oils at all or light them on fire. So you are simply sucking in the essential oil aroma. It is often advertised as a way to quit smoking and some reviews suggest it works to that affect.
However the reviews on Amazon for this product are pretty dismal, sitting at 3.2 stars and evenly amassing poor reviews or neutral reviews for the most part. Also looking at what fellow aromatherapists have to say on this product raises some concerns for the actual product:
“Personally I am not a fan. I feel like it’s ingesting essential oils unsafely.”
“I feel like it might be a good place for mold to grow. (the moist wood)”
While they requested to remain anonymous, I feel they bring some important points to the table. It is ingesting essential oils in a way, and that does pose a risk. You also risk mold and contamination that way, as the original design of the FÜM was all wood and similar dupes are also completely wood. FÜM has since improved the original design to include a metal core and mouth piece however it seems to still expose the end of the pipe to the inner wick and could still potentially have issues with mold growing due to the inhaling/exhaling that is being done on the product. The wood still has a potential to get spittle droplets, even with the metal casing design, simply by someone breathing through the device. Just some things to consider before really diving into this product. I always like to see what other people have to say before trying out or looking into something new.
Now, I am currently pregnant and I unable to use this product, so I will not be spending the money this product and instead will be digging into the company, the oils they provide and exactly how this works. While you are not technically ingesting essential oils, I can imagine that trace particles would still make it into a users mouth and that is something I just won’t risk at the moment.
FÜM price: $89.50
Packet prices: $7.25-$8.50
Looking at the price, it’s a little steep. I am fairly certain that there are similar dupes on the market, however I do not know their price. The packets are pre-soaked inner wicks with essential oils and they contain four wicks. Each core will last 2-3 days depending on use. They have a section on their site talking about the safety and the purity of the essential oils however there doesn’t seem to be any available reports and looking over the ingredients they don’t list the Latin names of the essential oils used either. They claim to have third party testing but have not listed their source or the results. They do list studies showing the effectiveness of aromatherapy and using aromatherapy for nicotine addictions, however back to the reviews it seems to work as a placeholder for the act of smoking and not because it is curbing a nicotine addiction. However there is evidence for aromatherapy and battling nicotine addictions, albeit that is something I haven’t looked into as much because I focus on pregnancy and childbirth.
So overall, this product seems to be what is advertised, however there is missing information that I would personally want when buying an essential oil product. This is a concern for me, especially with a natural product that is advertising a safe way to quit smoking.
Another concern I have with this product is how much essential oil you might be inhaling into your lungs. While aromatherapy can potentially be helpful when quitting smoking, inhaling essential oils in this manner might be irritating to the respiratory system. While you are not actively diffusing essentials, you can still suck up the particles of the oils. Some of the oils are especially irritating ones as well, and could cause a lot of irritation to the mouth.
However, over all I kind of like the idea of this product. Albeit, the safety is a huge concern for me. Vaping and smoking is a concern partially due to the chemicals added but also the irritation it causes the mouth and lungs. To me this seems like another thing that would cause irritation, or potentially have long term negative effects. Especially if someone is constantly using it to replace smoking or vaping. On top of that, products that actually vape (heat up) the essential oils can cause concern by heating the essential oils too much and causing damage that way. Essential oils are volatile compounds that shouldn’t be heated beyond a certain point. This is why when making DIY lotions or body butters recipes have you wait till the product cools a little to add the oils. This is also why some essential oils do not make for good candles, as heating the oil to much can kill off the scent and change the essential oils.
Potential affects that can happen from inhaling essential oils this way are:
coughing
bronchospasm
aggravation of asthma
itching
swelling of the throat
We have only just begun to crack the surface on the effects of long term vaping, and inhaling essential oils in this way is relatively new and unknown. Even if the product is not heating the oils up, it can still pose an irritation risk. There simply isn’t enough studies or research at this time to say if this is safe or how much essential oils someone would be inhaling into their lungs. This might not be a huge deal to someone who was previously smoking, but if you are into aromatherapy and think this is a fantastic new product to utilize essential oils you might just start a very bad habit for yourself.
At this time I am unsure if you are able to make your own inners for the FÜM, however seeing from users online I would assume you can since it is just a hollow tube. Like I mentioned before a huge concern is the purity of the oils with this product, and it might be something I am more open to if you are able to use your own oils. Without testing, it’s just not something I can get on board.
In the end though, this is a form of ingestion and that is just something I cannot recommend. Especially casually. Ingestion can be done safely, and should be done so with a professional. However FÜM is promoting the direct inhalation of pure (if they actually are) essential oils and to me that just seems like a reaction waiting to happen. Especially with an area as sensitive as the respiratory system.
All in all, the idea behind this product seems good, however the actual execution is questionable and not something I personally think I could recommend. I would rather stick with traditional personal inhalers, they are much cheaper and achieve the same thing without potentially irritating your mouth or lungs. But would I personally try this? Most likely, when I am not pregnant! Just to see what it is like and to get first hand experience with how it works.
Have you used the FÜM or similar inhalers? What were your thoughts?
Thank you so much for reading, your support means a lot. If you have any questions feel free to email me at holisticary@gmail.com or call/text me at 641-631-6355
This blog post was meant to educate and entertain, it is entirely my opinion and not meant to treat or diagnose anyone or to be taken as absolute unwavering fact. Please seek proper medical care and advice. 