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How to Successfully Switch from Smoking to Vaping – What Can You Expect?

by Vape

Quitting smoking is hard. Many smokers fail early on and fail several times too before they successfully manage to ditch the habit. Nicotine replacement products are one option, as is switching from smoking to vaping.

Of course, vaping isn’t for everyone and neither does making the change to vaping guarantee you’ll kick the habit. How can you make the transition from smoking to vaping?

Making the switch from smoking to vaping

The debate about whether e-cigs are successful in helping people quit smoking rages on. There is growing evidence that vaping is successful in luring people away from tobacco products. A 2019 survey found that smokers attempting to quit were twice as likely to be successful if they used an e-cig than just nicotine products such as gum alone.

Swapping to vaping presents a few challenges, many of which can be overcome. It is a different product using unfamiliar equipment but you’ll soon get the hang of vaping. Best of all, you’ll be leaving behind a habit that was seriously harming your health.

Tips for a smooth transition from smoking to vaping

  1. Buy yourself a decent e-cig

There are many different types of e-cigs out there making finding the right vaping kit hard to find. Take a look online at starter e-cig kits, perfect for giving you the inside track on how to get started with vaping.  Research the type of equipment that is best for vaping newbies, choosing a piece of kit that isn’t complicated to use or to charge. In terms of price, opt for mid-range as very cheap e-cigs won’t deliver the hit you’ll need as you try to kick the smoking habit.

  1. Test out a range of e-liquids

There are literally hundreds of flavours on the market, so opt for an assortment, with these sample e-liquid packs to find the one that works best for you and gives you that kick you’re after. Many people love to experiment with crazy vaping juice flavours, like bubble gum and strawberry cheesecake flavours, but you may prefer to go for something such as tobacco or mint when you’re just starting out.

  1. Don’t get a complicated mod (it won’t make you look cool!)

If you’re serious about using vaping as a way to escape cigarettes, its best to start off with the basics until you’re comfortable and found your vaping feet so to speak. Vaping and e-cigs can get really complicated when you don’t know what you’re doing, which ruin the vaping experience for you. Once you get the hang of it, with the right kit and vaping juice, vaping is gloriously uncomplicated, much cheaper than smoking cigarettes and far less harsh on your health.

  1. Don’t focus on the look of your e-cig

black vape mod

You may think that it’ll be easier for you if you pick an e-cig that looks like a cigarette. But the reality is, these smaller e-gigs won’t provide you with the same experience (and hit) you crave.

Fewer than 5% of smokers who go cold turkey make it successfully through the nicotine cravings that hit when a smoker is ditching the fags. These replica e-cigs are not always the right pieces of kit so take a look at the Aspire X30 or the Cool Fire Mini, two pieces of simple vaping kit which deliver a great vaping experience for the newbie.

  1. Gradually swap from smoking to vaping

The best way to go about swapping is to gradually insert it into your daily routine, start by swapping one cigarette with an e-cig break and gradually build up until you reach for your vape each time. Don’t rush but make sure you push yourself to the next steps too.

There are many tips for quitting smoking, one of which is to replace smoking with vaping. If you do decide to make the switch from smoking to vaping on one hit, you may still get the nicotine craving, feel a bit moody and under-the-weather but remember this: these feelings will pass and they don’t last long (although it feels like it at the time!).

  1. Use the right nicotine strength e-juice

Make sure when swapping to vaping, you get the right strength of e-liquid. If you buy an e-liquid that is too strong, you’ll likely end up feeling sick with a banging headache. On the other hand, if you use a liquid that is too weak, you will be left dissatisfied and possibly an almost-overpowering craving for a cigarette.

As a general rule of thumb;

  • Heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes a day) should use 18mg nicotine liquids
  • Medium smokers (between 10 and 20 cigarettes a day) should go for 12mg of nicotine in e-juice
  • Light smokers (up to 10 cigarettes a day) should purchase 3mg nicotine vaping juice

If you’re a heavy smoker and want to reduce your nicotine dependency, start by making the switch to vaping and being comfortable with it and then consider reducing the nicotine strength in your e-juice over time.

  1. Learn to vape your e-cig properly

Rather than taking hard, quick puffs of your e-cig, you’ll get the best results from a long and soft inhale. Vaping, unlike smoking, isn’t about a quick, short hit. It is something to be enjoyed and savoured, hence the different flavours and the different vaping equipment you can invest in.

Essentially, vaping is different from smoking in that it doesn’t have to be hidden or something to be ashamed of. Today, smokers are considered social pariahs, having to leave buildings to smoke in designated huts.   

  1. Get involved with the vaping community

There are hundreds of pages on social media such as Facebook, that provide a community for people who vape. This is a great way to learn new things about vaping, ask for advice and speak to people that are in the same position as you. There is also VapeJam UK events, of which there are two held every year, one in London and the other in Liverpool.

  1. Be patient

Switching from smoking to vaping is a big change in your life and habits, so learning how to vape properly won’t come to you overnight. Take your time, try new things, enjoy the experience.

  1. Don’t vape constantly

Smoking a cigarette only takes a few minutes or quicker if you drag hard. Vaping isn’t the same. The e-juice in the tank can last for some time, tempting the newbie vaper to constantly vape. Set yourself a time when you will vape, great for breaking the old habit of smoking a cigarette until its bitter end.

Successfully switching from smoking to vaping means taking your time, being patient and trying different vaping juices and equipment until you find the combination that works for you.

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Nicotine Strengths: How to Choose What’s Right for You

by Terms

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in plants from the nightshade family, including peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. But only in the tobacco plant it is abundant enough to extract and refine. Nicotine can be synthesized in a laboratory too, but the process is very expensive.

Paradoxically, nicotine works as both a stimulant and a relaxant, with users reporting varying effects such as mood elevation, alertness and calmness. It is commonly viewed as physically and psychologically addictive, which is why most vapers who were first smokers use e-juice with some level of nicotine. Commercial e-liquid is available in a range of nicotine strengths—including with no nicotine—but most vapers buy it with nicotine included.

Vape juice is sold with varying levels of nicotine, and picking the right nicotine strength is an important decision for a new vaper. Too much and you might wind up coughing, too little and you may wonder if vaping will even work for you. Or you might spend a pile of cash on a huge bottle of premium juice, only to find out that its nicotine strength is not high enough to satisfy your cravings.

E-liquids come in strengths that start at zero nicotine and go up to over 50 mg/mL. You may have also seen nicotine strengths expressed as percentages instead of concentrations. All this can be confusing at first, but it doesn’t have to be! This guide will help steer you in the right direction when choosing nicotine strength, and show you how to navigate the market.

Note that the information presented in this article pertains to nicotine strength in commercial e-liquid. If you are learning how to mix your own juice—which may involve diluting nicotine base—take a look at our article on how to make DIY e-juice for beginners.

Regular nicotine and nic salts: two great options

Source : VAPING360

JUUL introduced nicotine salt e-liquid to the vaping market, which has changed the way many users quit smoking and start vaping.

The popularity of nic salts e-liquid is the reason you see nicotine strengths jumping from 3 mg or 6 mg to 25 mg or even 60 mg in online shops these days. Nic salts, or protonated nicotine, uses an acid (usually benzoic acid) that smooths out the throat sensation, making higher nicotine concentrations more tolerable to the vaper. (You can find more info about nic salts in our nicotine salts mini guide.)

Unlike nic salts, regular nicotine (sometimes called freebase nicotine) is harsh at very high levels. There are some exceptions, but typically e-liquid that’s sold at a level of 18 mg/mL or lower uses regular nicotine, and juice over that strength is made with nic salts. Most people say the throat hit of 6 mg regular nic feels more or less like 20-25 mg nic salts.

With such high concentrations, salt nicotine has become synonymous with pod systems and other devices with low power and vapor output. The tiny atomizers on pod vapes like the JUUL really need higher nicotine levels to produce a satisfying experience for the user.

What’s the best nicotine strength for you?

If you’re a new vaper, there are two major factors to consider when picking nicotine strength: your smoking habits, and the type of device you are planning on using. To help you navigate the market, we have categorized our suggestions by vapor output, as this is the factor that ultimately dictates the amount of nicotine consumed per puff.

If you smoke socially, or up to a few cigarettes a day, you’ll probably fall in the lower range of each suggestion. If you smoke 10-20 cigarettes a day, you’ll land somewhere in the middle. Smoking more than a pack a day most likely puts you in the higher area.

Bear in mind that the suggested strengths in this section are exactly that: suggestions. Use them as a starting point, but if you find that you prefer your vape stronger or weaker, don’t be afraid to try other nicotine strengths. Remember that nicotine without smoke is not a health risk for most people. The best nicotine strength is the one that keeps you away from combustible cigarettes!

Low vapor production

Discreet clouds, similar to the smoke produced by a cigarette. This grouping includes most pod systems on the market, as well as mouth-to-lung (MTL) tanks with a very tight airflow. High-strength nic salts are the most popular choice for this category. (Many e-liquid manufacturers don’t even make flavors with regular nicotine at strengths over 6 mg/mL anymore.)

  • Regular nicotine: 12-24 mg/mL
  • Nicotine salts: 30-60 mg/mL

Medium vapor production

Clouds, but not of the massive variety. Devices that fall in this category can come from practically any product range. This includes pod systems that take sub ohm coils, airier MTL tanks, and even sub ohm tanks that have a very restricted draw.

  • Regular nicotine: 6-12 mg/mL
  • Nicotine salts: 20-30 mg/mL

High vapor production

Big clouds. This includes powerful sub ohm tanks and rebuildable atomizers with large airflow channels. Finding nic salts for this category may not be easy, because these devices put out so much vapor that it’s very easy to get too much nic too quickly. Most vapers who use sub ohm devices choose regular nicotine juices at very low strengths. Even 6 mg/mL e-liquid may be too strong considering the vapor volume delivered by some of these devices!

  • Regular nicotine: 1.5-6 mg/mL
  • Nicotine salts: 1.5-6 mg/mL

When it comes to quitting smoking, we advise new vapers to try a low vapor device—either a pod system or MTL tank. These will emulate the draw of a cigarette, which may help smokers smoothly transition to vaping.

But many people prefer a restricted direct-lung draw, or even a fully open draw, and in that case a more powerful pod system or a sub ohm tank might be the best choice. You may have to experiment with different kinds of devices. There is no right or wrong!

Converting percentages to mg/mL

Let’s assume that you have now tried a couple of nicotine strengths, and settled for the one that satisfies your cravings. Even after you narrow it down, it can still be confusing at times. Sometimes manufacturers list nicotine strength by percentage, like 0.3%, 0.6%, 2.5% and 5%.

What’s the difference between nicotine strengths written as mg/mL and those expressed as percentages? How do you convert from one to the other?

Nicotine strength in mg/mL

Most of the time, e-liquid nicotine strengths are shown in mg/mL, which stands for milligrams per milliliter. This means that for every milliliter of e-liquid in the bottle, there is the specified amount of nicotine.

For 6 mg/mL e-juice, this means every milliliter contains 6 milligrams of nicotine. If you need to work out the total amount of nicotine in a bottle or in a tank, just multiply the strength in mg/mL by the number of milliliters of it you have.

For example, if you fill up a 5 mL vape tank with 6 mg/mL e-liquid, you have 5 mL × 6 mg/mL = 30 mg of nicotine in your tank. In the same way, a 10 mL bottle of 6 mg/mL e-liquid contains 60 mg of nicotine in total.

Nicotine strengths as percentages

Nicotine strengths as percentages are very similar, but a little easier to understand. Instead of combining a mass (in mg) and a volume (in mL), percentages use the volumes of both. In simple terms, figures like 0.3% or 1.8% just tell you how much of the liquid in the bottle is nicotine.

This means that if you have some e-liquid containing 1.2% nicotine, any amount you measure out will be 1.2% nicotine and 98.8% PG, VG and flavorings.

Technically, this measurement is called “nicotine by volume,” in the same way the percentages on a bottle of liquor are “alcohol by volume” or ABV for short. “Nicotine by volume” is sometimes shortened to NBV too.

You could also work out the percentage by mass, if you wanted to, but e-liquid companies usually don’t do this. Vapers deal with e-juice in milliliters, so manufacturers do too.

Converting from mg/mL to percent and back

Converting from a nicotine strength in mg/mL to a percentage is really easy. Just divide the amount in mg/mL by 10. So, if you have a 6 mg/mL e-juice, this is equal to a 0.6% e-juice. A 25 mg/mL e-juice is 2.5%. And if you had a high-strength nicotine base of 72 mg/mL, this would be 7.2%.

The conversion couldn’t be any simpler. To convert back from percentages to mg/mL, just multiply it by 10. That’s all there is to it!

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New to Vape? 3 TIPS To Vape Like A Pro!

by Vape Tips

Are you new to vaping? If yes, then you should definitely read this article. This guide will teach you how to get started properly.Vaping has become very popular these days. People are using e-cigarettes or vape pens to quit smoking cigarettes. There are also other benefits associated with vaping.

So you want to know how to vape like a pro ? Here are some 3 tips for you to change from beginner to pro! 

  1. CHOOSE A GOOD VAPE DEVICE 

The first thing that you need to do is choose a good vape device. There are many different types of vapes available in the market these days and it can be difficult to choose one that suits your needs and preferences. If you are new, then it’s best to go for something basic and easy to use.

  1. CHOOSING AN E-LIQUID

Choosing an e-liquid can be difficult, especially if you’re new to vaping. There are so many flavors to choose from and so many different nicotine levels. If you’re trying to quit smoking, a high-strength flavor like tobacco or menthol will help keep your cravings at bay. If you’re just looking for a good flavor that you can vape all day long, then fruity or dessert flavors are better suited for you

  1. VAPING TECHNIQUE

Go for smooth hits instead of big clouds. If you’re new to vaping, don’t worry about making huge clouds of vapor right away—even experienced vapers rarely do this unless they’re trying to impress someone or make a point. Instead, focus on taking smooth draws that are rich in flavor without being harsh on your throat or lungs.

You don’t have to be a science genius to vape. It’s easy to learn and you can vape like a pro in no time. With these 3 tips, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the art of vaping and staying informed of delicious new flavors and techniques.