The New Year creates moments of reflection and a look ahead to change. Giving up smoking is a popular New Year's resolution and a major life goal. However, considering the challenge of accomplishing this feat, many turn to Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs).
With the emergence of vapes as a recent favourite NRT, the question is often asked ‘What are the best vape nicotine levels’ to make the switch? Once you know the answer, a new vaper can decide the nicotine strength that is a perfect match based on previous habits, in addition to finding the e-liquid flavour and perfect vape kit to give all vapers the best chance of smoking cessation.
What is Nicotine?
First of all, to understand optimum vape nicotine levels, this guide needs to explain the key aspects of nicotine and why it is so addictive. Found naturally in tobacco plants, nicotine is a chemical compound found in not just tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars but also in recommended replacements for smoking such as e-cigarettes, nicotine gum or patches.
Studies from medical research over the years have found nicotine can lead to more minor health risks but not on its own linked to direct heart or lung disease but also worrying issues such as increased cravings for nicotine and withdrawal symptoms once you stop.
Due to its addictive nature, that is why millions each year hope to quit cigarettes but struggle to take the final step. In recent years, vape products have helped millions of people in the UK quit smoking.
Vapes still offer nicotine but at more personally controlled levels, which are labelled on all packaging. However, to do so means recognising the right amount of milligrams of nicotine per 10ml e-liquid bottle needed to quit.
How Much Nicotine is in a Vape?
There are a variety of nicotine strengths available to ex-smokers hoping to achieve their New Year's resolution and stick with a tobacco-free lifestyle. A vape can range in milligrams from 20mg at the highest strength down to 3mg or even 1mg at the lower end of the scale.
With heavy smokers, naturally, a higher strength is preferred to get the nicotine satisfaction and familiarity required to maintain their nicotine habit. Then later the individual can drop the nicotine level at the right time.
The key difference between vapes and cigarettes is the nicotine level is much clearer in a vape e-liquid compared to a cigarette in a pack of 10 or 20 as standard from the major cigarette brands.
But also bear in mind nicotine from vaping absorbs at a slightly slower rate than cigarettes, so allow some extra time for that feeling to kick in.
A full list of how much nicotine can be found in a vape is explained below:
Social Smoker (3mg recommended)
Whether it’s a tendency to smoke around friends on a night out or just the odd one during the lunch break, your addiction to nicotine and dependency on smoking is low but you’re still aware of the risks. Switching to vaping makes sense and as a social smoker, you’ll be best starting on 3mg and slowly cutting that down to zero when you feel ready.
Light Smoker (6mg recommended)
If you smoke 5-10 cigarettes a day, this is the vape nicotine strength for you. With 6mg of nicotine in your vape juice, it is a level for those needing a throat hit but not as frequently.
Average Smoker (12mg recommended)
Everyday smoking of roughly one pack will relate to this level, as you get the nicotine hit you’re familiar with, with a plan in place to eventually cut that down.
Heavy smoker (18mg or 20mg recommended)
This is the much stronger quantity of nicotine in your e-liquid to match more than a pack of cigarettes a day you are used to smoking. Not all vape devices can cope with this so you must pick a low-wattage vape pod kit or mod that can manage the high levels of nicotine.
Nic salts are a great choice for a smooth throat hit and high strength. But if you seek a strong throat hit and no aftertaste effect, you can’t beat Vsavi Platinum vape juice, which is available in as high as 18mg.
Finally, the end goal will be to achieve only needing a nicotine-free vape, which will be clearly labelled for the consumer. If you’ve done the hard work from 20mg after giving up cigarettes but like the flavours and want to maintain the familiarity of holding something in your hand, zero nicotine is the answer.
And don’t worry—there are still plenty of flavours to choose from with a nicotine-free vape, whether that’s traditional tobacco and menthol flavours or fruit and dessert options!
The Perfect Nicotine Level for New Vapers
Now that you know how many cigarettes equal different nicotine vape levels, it is time to find the right strength that suits your needs. Whether you pick a high or low strength to match your habits, you also need to think about the type of vape setup you will opt for, from the vape kit power output to the type of vape coil that goes with the vape pod or tank.
As most adult vapers who switch from smoking tend to smoke more than one pack a day, they typically start on a higher strength of 18mg or 20mg if needed. If the strength you pick initially is too low, you may not get the nicotine satisfaction required and revert back to cigarettes.
To mimic the patterns of a pack-a-day smoker, you can vape 20 times a day and puff on it 10–15 times during each session.
What is Low Nicotine Vaping?
There is no hidden meaning to this commonly searched-for term. It simply means finding a low-nicotine vape that fits a person’s needs for lower nicotine levels. The ideal level for occasional social smokers who want to give up cigarettes completely. But also too weak in strength for those with heavier smoking habits.
Whether that is 3mg or you are at the final stage of the path towards a nicotine-free life with something even more niche down to 1mg, the throat hit will be ever-so-subtle but offer intense flavour.
Obviously be even weary that at a lower strength of nicotine, vaping can pose a risk to human health and at the very least cause minor side effects such as headaches or nausea.
But the benefits of a lower strength can help those who want to drop the intensity levels of nicotine to sidestep going from high nicotine to no nicotine (which could cause withdrawal symptoms if not gradually managed).
Conclusion
The best vape nicotine level for you has to match your smoking habits. This we can not stress enough for the switch to happen successfully, transitioning from smoking to vaping.
If you pick a strength higher than your previous smoking habits, this is counterproductive and will only lead to an unnecessarily different vaping addiction. Go too low when picking your vape nicotine level and you run the risk of not getting the desired effect you are familiar with that made you switch in the first place.
With vaping, it is a case of trial and error, picking the right vape kit, coil setup and vape juice with the correct nicotine strength to ensure the smoothest switch possible.