SUMMARY
The importance of nicotine in your vape for success
So nicotine is THE factor to consider if you want to make a successful transition to the electronic cigarette without the risk of relapse. Compensating for the lack of nicotine will gradually take you away from your dependence on tobacco, and cigarettes will be a distant memory! Your nicotine level depends on how much you smoke and how addicted you are. The rest of this article will explain why it's so important to choose the right nicotine level, and we'll give you a tool to help you work out your current nicotine level. The aim of switching to an electronic cigarette is to succeed in weaning yourself off nicotine for good by gradually reducing your nicotine dose, which is known as the palliative principle. Every step you take is another step towards freedom!
A second thing to be aware of when switching to vaping is the importance of the hit created, among other things, by nicotine. The hit is the sensation (like a tingling) felt in the throat when you inhale. It's this familiar sensation that gives you the real impression of inhaling something, like a cigarette for example, and allows you to make a smooth transition from smoker to vaper. It's this hit that will make all the difference with another smoking cessation method. Same sensations, but obviously not the same health risks! The higher the nicotine content of your eliquid, the greater the hit. The hit is also influenced by the dosage of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG). To find out more about this, go to the ‘How to choose the right PG/VG ratio’ guide. We'll see later that the equipment you choose is also important.
Nicotine: a danger to health?
This is one of the most popular misconceptions, and one that is ingrained in the collective consciousness. And wrongly so! Contrary to what many people still believe, nicotine is absolutely not the reason why traditional cigarettes are dangerous. It is not carcinogenic, and poses no risk to health, in the same way as caffeine, for example. Nicotine is addictive, but in no way dangerous to health in the doses in which we consume it. It also has ‘exciting’ properties, and has a number of virtues, particularly in terms of concentration. But that's no reason to start smoking it or consuming it in other forms! Because it's hard to give it up. Hence the palliative principle of vaping, and above all of risk reduction.
Zany anecdote: it's also nicotine that promotes bowel movements. With vape, the famous ritual, which we'll now call coffee-vape, is still with us!
For more information on this subject, visit our guide to "Preconceived ideas about vaping and the dangers to health" in the section on nicotine.
Why is it so important to choose the right nicotine level ?
Nicotine is often the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about smoking and its harmful consequences, whereas the real danger is the combustion itself. Nicotine is therefore an ally in stopping smoking. To give up smoking, you need to find the nicotine substitute best suited to your needs as a smoker. The electronic cigarette meets many of the criteria for effective smoking cessation, and does not eliminate nicotine, which is not the primary danger of cigarettes, as mentioned above. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine consistently (like other pharmaceutical smoking cessation aids), which makes them less addictive. What's more, the vapour from the vape contains no carbon monoxide or solid particles and causes very little irritation (due to the nicotine) compared with traditional cigarettes. Former heavy smokers say they feel much better (less coughing and less irritation) when they switch to vaping.
As explained above, successful smoking cessation requires you to make up for your nicotine deficiency, so choosing the right nicotine level is vital if you are not to continue smoking alongside it and be subject to the associated health and morbidity risks, as well as avoiding the undesirable effects of overconsumption.
Choosing too low nicotine level
Choosing a nicotine level that's too low for your real smoking needs means exposing yourself to an obvious risk of over-consumption, which in the long run may not be economically advantageous. In fact, the symptom of playmobile (hand-held vaping) will cause you to spend more on e-liquids and coils, as the vapers concerned will tell you.
Choosing too high nicotine level
On the other hand, choosing too high nicotine level can lead to physical complaints such as headaches or, in more extreme cases, nausea and/or palpitations. These side effects are very similar to an overdose of caffeine, for example. What's more, as we saw earlier, the higher your nicotine level, the higher your hit will be, and this could lead to coughing fits..
Nicotine levels according to smoker profile
If you don't want to suffer the effects of a nicotine level that's too low, too high or simply not right for you, we've put this tool at your disposal. Using a series of simple questions, it will help you to define your smoking profile and therefore the nicotine level that's really right for you. It's ideal for adapting your consumption to your smoking profile.
Adapting nicotine levels to the type of vaping equipment you use
The equipment you use (complete kit, box, clearomizer, etc.) will also affect your choice of nicotine strength. Depending on the wattage of your equipment, the nicotine delivery will not be the same. The higher the wattage, the more judicious it will be to have a lower nicotine rate.
For example, direct inhalation equipment (subohm or DL) will tend to be combined with low nicotine levels, whereas first-generation equipment (MTL/indirect inhalation) is associated with higher nicotine levels. It's these higher nicotine levels that are recommended when you switch to an electronic cigarette.
If you're a beginner (first-time user), we advise you to opt for electronic cigarettes with no settings.
To find out more on this subject, go to the guide "How to choose your first e-cigarette?"
Also, don't hesitate to make an appointment with one of our experts thanks to the personalised assessment.
Please note: The nicotine content of cigarettes does not correspond to the nicotine content of e-liquids used for vaping.
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The first thing you need to know is that vaping and smoking are two very different things. Indeed, vaping has nothing to do with combustion, which, as we saw earlier, involves numerous health risks. It's difficult to give a precise equivalence between consuming nicotined e-liquid and smoking cigarettes, because it depends on a number of factors, such as the material used (see paragraph above), the PG/VG (propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine) ratio of your liquid, your vaping behaviour and, above all, the nicotine concentration of your liquid. And even if we took all these factors into account, the calculation would only be an estimate and not a 100% sure thing. However, we can give you a few pointers that could prove useful in your choice of nicotine level:
- + 15 cigarettes/day = prefer nicotine levels of between 12mg/ml and 16mg/ml
- Between 10 and 15 cigarettes/day = between 9 mg/ml and 12mg/ml
- Between 5 and 10 cigarettes/day = 6 mg/ml
- Less than 5 cigarettes/day = between 3mg/ml and 0 mg/ml
As you can see from some blogs, a 10 ml bottle of eliquid is not equivalent to 10 packets of cigarettes!
These values are obviously not set in stone, you'll have to try and find the rate that best suits your smoking profile.
Nicotine salts, an alternative to traditional nicotine?
In view of all the information above, you think your nicotine level is too low and when you try to increase it, you can't, because you cough too much and you find the HIT too high? Before you try another type of material that can have a huge effect on HIT, there's another solution: e-liquids with nicotine salts.
To find out more about nicotine salts, visit our guide: "E-liquids with nicotine salts".