February 2, 2022 avtar sehmi

What is Vaping - the Beginners Guide

What you may want to know about vaping
This handy introduction to vaping answers all the popular questions

Thousands of people are swapping their regular cigarettes for e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) because it's proven to be a healthier alternative. If you are looking to make the switch, this handy guide for new vapers should help answer your key questions.

What is an e-cigarette? What is a Ecig? What is a Vape?
A e-cigarette is an electronic tobacco smoking substitute that creates a vapour mist to replicate the experience of smoking a cigarette. There are many types of vape kits in the market, the favourites type kits in 2022 seem to be the disposable types like the Geek bar And Elf Bar.

What are the Key benefits of e-cigarettes versus regular cigarettes?
Regular cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 carcinogenic compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic and DDT.

E-cigarettes are non-combustible and, therefore, contain no ash, smoke, tar, or carcinogens. They also do not have an unpleasant odour like regular cigarettes and are widely considered to pose no cause for concern to bystanders.

What is an Atomiser, Coil, Clearomiser?
There are many types of Coils available in the vaping world today, they sit on top of an e-cigarette battery and use heat to vaporise e-liquid. They can be self-contained and disposable, user replaceable coils, or be rebuildable for experienced vapers who want full control over their vaping experience.

Atomisers and coils are the heart of your vaping device. Generally, with a manufactured coil (previously known as wicks), you'll see a small wire wrapped around cotton. The cotton is soaked in e-liquid and, when the wire is heated by the battery, it turns the e-liquid into vapour.

The resistance of a coil is defined in ohms, which tells you how much current the coil will allow to pass through it. The lower the resistance, the more heat will be generated meaning that you will produce more vapour and experience a more intense flavour from your vape juice. The downside is that you will go through more e-liquid and your battery life will be reduced.

What is the difference between 'mouth to lung' (MTL) and 'direct to lung' (DTL) vaping?
You may have heard this within the vaping community, if you have seen a fellow vaper produce huge clouds, the chances are they are sub ohm vaping. Going back just a few years and sub ohm vaping was reserved for those who built their own coils and modified their batteries.

These terms have come about due to the new technology available in vaping devices which are much more powerful than used to be. If you are new to vaping, you will need to know the difference so you can make an informed choice about which may be best for you.

Direct to Lung (DTL) Vaping
Direct to lung (DTL) vaping is much closer to breathing normally. The DTL devices are more advanced and their atomisers have a much looser draw that require the use of your lungs directly to inhale.

Far more vapour is produced (cloud chasing), there is more flavour and the hit can be more intense and satisfying. Because of the bigger cloud, it is important to choose a lower nicotine content (usually no more than 6mg). Users will also often favour a higher VG liquid which is much smoother, and a vape kit with airflow control.

Mouth to Lung Vaping
With mouth to lung (MTL), you inhale the vapour and collect it in your mouth before taking it fully into your lungs. The atomisers used for this provide a tight draw and are what new vapers should start with.

The process closely mimics the effects of smoking, and is what early takers of vaping will be used to, as the first e-cigarette kits were mouth to lung only. Additionally, MTL setups usually require fewer power settings (wattage) and can handle higher nicotine and PG levels.

When should I replace my coil?
Coils will need replacing periodically; the length of time between changes depends on a number of factors. The amount of device use, power settings, chosen e-liquid, and other variables, all affect the lifespan of the coil. Generally you would want to replace your coil as and when you encounter a burnt or poor taste from your atomiser.

How do I prime my coil to avoid premature burnout

It's really important to make sure your coil is primed properly before you first fire the device. To achieve this, you can follow the following simple instructions:

Pour some e-liquid into the holes in the top and the side of the coil, allowing the cotton inside to soak it up between drips.
Refit the coil and fill your tank with vape juice
Allow to sit for a few minutes to soak
Take a few 'Priming Puffs' by pulling on the atomiser as if you were vaping but WITHOUT firing the device, if your device is auto inhalation then remove pod from device and take priming puffs.
Once you have left it for 10 minutes it is time to vape away, If your device has adjustable power, turn it to a low setting and fire it taking small inhalations gradually building your wattage up by a few increments at a time.
Work the power higher at intervals until you are back to your preferred power level

What is e-liquid, Vape Oil, Vape Liquid, Ejuice, Vape Juice?
E-liquid can also be known as e-juice, vape liquid, vape juice or coil sauce and is the liquid that you drip into your vaping device which is heated by the coil to create vapour. It consists of just four ingredients: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), flavouring and nicotine. The VG and PG are additives from the food industry that are typically used to sweeten or preserve food (more on this below).

PG and VG Differences
You may prefer more PG for the throat hit or more VG for increased vapour production and intense flavour. You may favour a particular flavour group (tobacco, menthol, fruits, vanilla, caramel, mixed berries - the choice is endless). You may decide to vape a liquid with high, medium, or no nicotine at all.

What is propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG)?
PG and VG are the liquids that help burn the nicotine to vapour. They are both recognised as safe by the Food Standards Agency and are in
many processed foods and cosmetics.
PG is tasteless and comes from plants. It is used in baked goods, medicines and cosmetics. The liquid is thinner than VG and so produces
less vapour. PG produces more throat hit that is similar to smoking a regular cigarette. It is better suited to lower powered devices and can
carry a higher nicotine content. One of the downsides of a high PG e-liquid is that it may cause some throat dryness.
VG tastes a little sweet but the flavour is too small for most people to detect. It's used in baked goods, sweeteners, and as a filler in foods. The
liquid is thicker which helps to produce lots of vapour and, as it's the vapour that carries the flavour, high VG vape juice provides a more intense
taste sensation. The vapour also carries the nicotine, so vapers who prefer high VG liquids generally opt for a lower nicotine strength. In order
to produce the large vape clouds, more power is required so you should consider more powerful hardware to heat the VG effectively.

Most people start out with a 50/50 mix which has been determined to be a very optimal blend and can be used effectively in a smaller starter
kit. As you experiment with different juices that use different blends, you may choose a juice with more VG for more vapour production, or
more PG for throat hit with 60/40 mixes or even 70/30.

An important consideration is allergies or reactions to either PG or VG, in which case you should buy a blend that uses less of that item. These
reactions are typically more common with PG than VG.

What PG/VG split do your e-liquids contain?
The majority of our own brand range of UK mad e-liquids are a 50/50 VG/PG split, but each flavour shows the specific blend in the listing on our site

Our premium, high VG UK made e-liquids contain either 70(VG)/30(PG) or 80(VG)/20(PG) and are fantastic for flavour delivery and vapour production.

Which nicotine strength should I go for?
The nicotine strength listed for e-liquid is the number of milligrams of nicotine per milliliter in a bottle. As an example that means a 10ml bottle of 6mg
nicotine e-liquid would have 60mg of nicotine (6mg x 10ml).

The new legislation from the TPD restricts e-liquid to a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml.

If you smoke regular cigarettes (like a Marlboro Red), there is approximately 1.2mg of nicotine in each cigarette, or 24mg of nicotine per pack
(1.2mg x 20 cigarettes).

If you smoke cigarettes (like a Marlboro Light), there is approximately 0.7mg of nicotine in each cigarette, or 14mg of nicotine per pack
(0.7mg x 20 cigarettes).

If you smoke Light cigarettes (like a Silk Cut), there is approximately 0.5mg of nicotine in each cigarette, or 10mg of nicotine per pack
(0.5mg x 20 cigarettes).

Our Recommendations are:
20+ cigarettes per day = 18mg/20mg nicotine strength
Up to 10 cigarettes per day = 12mg/10mg nicotine strength
Very light/occasional smokers = 3mg/6mg nicotine strength

Nicotine free = 0 mg nicotine strength

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