diff --git a/src/logging.cc b/src/logging.cc
index 08999de1a..8db32cb6a 100644
--- a/src/logging.cc
+++ b/src/logging.cc
@@ -2167,7 +2167,9 @@ static bool SendEmailInternal(const char*dest, const char *subject,
     string cmd =
         logmailer + " -s" +
         ShellEscape(subject) + " " + ShellEscape(dest);
-    VLOG(4) << "Mailing command: " << cmd;
+    if (use_logging) {
+        VLOG(4) << "Mailing command: " << cmd;
+    }
 
     FILE* pipe = popen(cmd.c_str(), "w");
     if (pipe != NULL) {