Vaping has influenced millions of smokers worldwide to put down their packets of cigarettes and transition to vaping or to stop smoking entirely. The vast range of vaping benefits cannot be overlooked. However, if you’re a novice vaper, e-cigarettes still have their own set of minor challenges.
Every once in a while, you may experience a dreaded dry hit or even a burning sensation in the back of your throat. Most of the time, it’s nothing more than a bad experience, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the discomfort. To help you vape smoothly, this article explores the reasons why you may be experiencing that nasty burning sensation and how to avoid it in the future.
Causes and Prevention Methods
High-Strength E-liquid
When we inhale vape, the sensation we experience at the back of our throat is labelled a ‘throat hit’. The harshness of a ‘throat hit’ depends on your e-liquid; the stronger the e-liquid, the more intense the ‘throat hit’. Therefore, if you vape continuously with a high-strength e-liquid, your intense ‘throat hit’ can lead to a burning sensation overtime.
To prevent this sensation, slowly reduce the strength of your e-liquid until your nicotine cravings are satisfied, without causing irritation to your throat. However, those who enjoy smoking high-strength e-liquids or have recently quit smoking cigarettes may be reluctant to transition to weaker vapes. For these cases, we recommend switching to nic salts. These contain different types of nicotine which are smoother, so you can continue vaping high-strength e-liquids without an intense ‘throat hit’ as a result.
Low-Strength E-liquid
If you suddenly transition to a weak e-liquid, you may experience a sore throat due to nicotine withdrawal. Therefore, if you’ve recently been vaping e-liquid with a lower concentration than what you’re accustomed to, try slowly increasing its strength. You may find your sore throat eases up after just a few days.
E-liquid Ingredients
All vapers should be using reputable e-liquid brands to ensure their ingredients are safe for human consumption. Most certified vape ingredients are unlikely to cause any side effects. However, a few can result in minor reactions for a small number of vapers. Propylene Glycol (PG) – a substance found in many packaged foods and cosmetics – can cause a mild allergic reaction, resulting in a sore throat.
If you’re using a vape product with a high PG content and often have a sore throat, try switching to an e-liquid with a higher concentration of Vegetable Glycerin (VG). At Red Vape, we offer high VG vape juice in our Urban Sky range for a noticeably smoother vape experience.
Coils
Vape users may experience an allergic reaction to the nickel found in some vape coils, resulting in that burning sensation at the back of their throat. A simple solution is to find coils that have a low concentration of nickel or are free of it entirely.
Vaping Style
The answer to your sore throat could be in the way you inhale your vape. The two most common methods of vaping include:
Mouth to lung (MTL): Similar to cigarette smoking, when vaping MTL, the vaper takes the vapour into their mouth and then inhales it into their lungs.
Direct to lung (DTL): The vaper takes the vapour directly into the lungs rather than holding it in the mouth first.
If you have only tried one of these vaping styles, we recommend testing out the alternative method, as it may offer your throat some much-needed relief.
Binge Vaping
Mindlessly vaping excessive amounts can be easy, especially when completing familiar tasks such as watching a movie or working. However, binge vaping can cause throat irritation, so it’s important to be conscious of your habits. Have the self-control to take a deep breath of air between each vape. If you still find yourself excessively vaping, set limits throughout the day. We recommend removing access to any vapes during these times to eliminate temptation.
E-liquid Flavours
An unsuspected cause of that burning sensation in the back of your throat could be the flavour of your e-liquid. Some vapers don’t respond well to certain vape juice flavours; for example, menthol or sweet flavours can be particular irritants. If other methods don’t seem to be helping your sore throat, try switching to a new e-liquid flavour.