What nicotine strength do you need--E-cigarettes using guide Hekvapor for all E-ciarettes users (1)

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New e-cigarette users who are attempting to convert to an e-cig from smoking have dozens of questions. One of the most common is, "What nicotine strength do I need?". A variant on this is, "I smoked one and a half packs a day of lights, what nicotine liquid strength should I use?"

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like this. It is not advisable to try to compare cigarette nicotine levels with e-cigarette liquid nicotine levels because there are too many variables, both in the relative absorption levels for smoke and vapor, and those introduced by the user. Even if a situation could be arranged where exactly the same amount of nicotine is available in both the cigarette smoke and the e-cig vapor (which would not work anyway, as it needs to be higher in the vapor since it is absorbed less well), the end result will be different, for each user.

For example, a person who smoked 5 a day may need 36mg liquid to avoid cravings (and show absolutely no signs of nicotine OD while using it); a person who was on 2 PAD may be happy with 12mg and shows signs of over-consumption at a higher strength. There is no comparison possible because the end result required is satisfaction / lack of cravings in an individual - and individuals vary so much in their tolerance to / requirement for nicotine that there is no 'scale' that can be devised.

There are some useful things to keep in mind here, though:

• Using an e-cig is different to smoking a tobacco cig. Newbies have such bad technique they may only get a fraction of the nicotine that an experienced vaper would get from basically the same set-up.
• It is difficult to make your e-liquid stronger, but very easy to make it weaker.
• In general, people start high and taper off. This means you might need 24mg or 30mg nicotine strength at first, but you can gradually reduce the strength as you get further away from cigarettes and as you improve your ecig usage technique.
• The trick is - especially at first - to use the lowest strength that prevents cravings but does not create symptoms of over-consumption. That strength is normally higher than you eventually settle down into using, because cravings are stronger at first, and then taper off.

Because of this it is a good idea to get some high-strength 36mg liquid with your first order. If, while using the 24mg commonly supplied with Starter Kits, after several days you still experience strong cravings, you can try the 36mg liquid. On the other hand, if your main liquid is too strong, you can add VG (available at any pharmacy) to it, to reduce the strength to whatever is required. Another way to do this is to use 'zero-nic doubler liquid' from your vendor - this is flavored base liquid with no nicotine that is specifically made for reducing the strength with.

If you have some 24mg strength liquid, and add an equal amount of VG or doubler liquid to it, you then have 12mg strength liquid, double the original quantity. Adding VG will reduce the strength of the flavor, however. Adding 'doubler liquid' decreases the nicotine strength but maintains the flavor level.


Transition policy
During your first week with an e-cigarette you will most likely experience some cravings for a cigarette. One reason for this is because tobacco contains more than nicotine, there are several substances we call WTAs or whole tobacco alkaloids, in lower quantity than nicotine, that some people (but not all) will miss. These include nornicotine, anabasine, anatabine and myosmine. Nicotine is not the only active alkaloid in tobacco, although it is present in much higher quantities than the others. There are many other ingredients in tobacco smoke that can also create dependence in some people.

Many people actually get over this stage fairly quickly, though some don't. The best advice is very simple indeed: don't worry. If you still need to smoke, then do so. Ideally you will cut down - and cut down drastically. If you can't, then here are some ways to improve your e-cigarette's effect.

• Use higher-strength e-liquid. Uness you have tried 36mg strength then you have not explored the most likely cause of continued cravings. Some have a very high tolerance to nicotine and this is not related to how much they smoked. Indeed, some will require 45mg strength when using a mini ecig as the performance is restricted compared to larger models.
• Vape more. Do not restrict yourself to use of the e-cigarette only when you would have smoked, it's OK to use it more often, and for longer. Some vape twice as much as they smoked, in the initial stages especially.
• If progress seems slow, then you may need more power. Mini e-cigarette models ('cigalikes') deliver about 4 watts of power or less, and you may need 8, 10 or even as much as 15 watts in order to 'get over the hump'. The quickest/cheapest way to increase power is to change to LR (low resistance) atomizers or cartomizers - these will get you up to 6 or 7 watts, although they cannot be used on a mini ecig (they should be used on a mid-size model or APV, an advanced personal vaporizer aka a 'mod').
• You can get a mid-size ecig in order to use one of these LR heads (end fittings), or get a cheap APV such as a 5 volt boxmod for use with your regular fittings (not the LR ones). LR or low resistance means anything under 2 ohms.
• Finally, the most costly - but possibly the best long-term solution - is to get a VV (variable voltage) APV that can be set to exactly the right voltage you need at the time. All these models are larger than a mini, but work better.
• If your smoking is gradually reducing, you are winning. If you still have strong cravings after 3 weeks, and have tried 36mg liquid from at least two different vendors (there is always a possibility that one supplier's products may not be the full strength as marked), and have also tried higher power with no improvements - and if you want to get through this bit as quickly as possible - then your best course of action is to add Snus to your regime.

Swedish Snus is a specially processed oral tobacco that comes in micro pouches. Most of the carcinogens have been removed by the special processing, and the remaining amounts are low enough to have no significant risk. A Snus user has the same risk of mouth cancer as a non-smoker, so there is not too much need to worry about this. You can use Snus whenever you feel the craving for a cigarette - it has the full range of WTAs that an e-cigarette cannot provide*. It is spitless and not related to the old chewing tobacco - the micro pouch is placed between the upper lip and the gum, and use is invisible.

For those who need these extra WTAs, an e-cigarette plus Snus approach has been found highly effective.

* Recently, a small number of vendors have introduced e-liquids containing WTAs. These are not easy to find at present, but in theory will do the same job as Snus.

This is reprinted from ECF. more details are on my next post.