A lot of people start vaping as an
alternative to smoking. What draws smokers in and what makes vaping an
alternative for smokers is the presence of nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive
stimulant, and thus, is very important to consider if you are using it in your
e-liquids.
E-liquid nicotine levels can vary
from 0 to levels that are labeled ‘very high’. Typical levels you will see are:
- 0 (0mg/ml)
- 0.6% (6mg/ml)
- 1.2% (12mg/ml)
- 1.8% (18mg/ml)
You may see some numbers in between these
and numbers larger, but by in large, the above is a good general guideline to
what is out there. The way to read the level is to look at the bottle and see
how many ‘mg’ are listed. If a bottle says “18mg”, that means it contains 18mg
per mL of liquid; this is important because a lot of vapers will assume that
there are 18mg of nicotine in the entire bottle. As a rough rule of thumb, a
cigarette such as a Marlboro Red contains approx. 1.5mg of nicotine. Typical
tanks can hold anywhere from 1mL to 5mL of liquid. Hence, if you’re a smoker
transitioning to vaping, it is important to consider how much nicotine you will
need starting off.
For example, a pack a day smoker will
intake approximately 30mg of nicotine (1.5mg per cigarette * 20 cigarettes). A
tank with 2.5mL of 12mg liquid contains this much nicotine. As a rough
guideline, this is good to keep in mind when choosing which nicotine level to
use an e-liquid at. However, the comparison to cigarettes doesn’t hold
completely because cigarettes have all sorts of chemical additives to make sure
that the nicotine is absorbed into the body the most efficiently (even at the
cost of your health). As a vaper, and especially if you are just transitioning
from smoking, it would be advisable to start with a larger level if you were a
heavier smoker, and adjust accordingly based on how you feel.
If your liquid level is too low, you
will likely know because you will be experiencing nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
These are no mystery to any smoker, and include symptoms such as:
- Cravings For More Nicotine
- Sluggishness
- Occasional Headaches
If you’re experiencing nicotine
withdrawal symptoms such as the above, you may need to switch to a higher level
of nicotine to compensate.
On the flip side, there is such a thing as a
nicotine level that’s too high. Nicotine itself is a stimulant, and thus, will
cause undesirable stimulant effects at levels that are too high. These include
symptoms such as:
- Agitation
- Accelerated Heart Rate
- Difficulty Breathing / Pressure In The Chest Area
On the draw, a higher nicotine level
will feel harsher, giving more of a throat hit. When a level is too high, it
will irritate your throat as well as your lungs.
As you can see, the nicotine level is
important, so choose carefully when determining the e-liquid that you will be
vaping with, as it can determine how effective your overall experience will be.
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