Vaping Information, How To Guides
2X Vape Beginner’s Guide to Vaping
Jan
A new year is upon us, and with every new year people set out new year resolutions for the year ahead. One person’s resolution may differ to the next, with people making promises to themselves to be more active, go to the gym, lose weight, do more with their lives, and one of the most frequently made new year’s resolutions made by people is to give up smoking.
Giving up smoking is one of the hardest things to do, and it’s not an easy task in the slightest. But statistics from 2022 showed that more people are opting to quit smoking and use an E-Cigarette as their method of Nicotine Replacement Therapy, with the numbers of adult E-Cig users reaching all-time record numbers in the previous year.
If you are someone who is wanting to quit smoking this year and start vaping, but don’t know where to start, then this article is for you! This is 2X’s ultimate beginners guide to Vaping, this guide covers everything you need to know about Vaping and breaks it all down to make it as easy to understand as possible and get you on the right track to keeping to your new year’s resolution you may have set!
What is vaping?
E-Cigarettes have been around on the market a lot longer than people realise, with the first ever E-Cigarette actually blueprinted for design way back in the 1950’s! But this didn’t take off and it wasn’t until the mid 2000’s that the world saw the first E-Cigarette introduced onto the consumer market.
Hon Lik designed and created an electronic nicotine delivery system after seeing his father deteriorate and eventually pass away from lung cancer due to being a heavy smoker for a number of years, and Hon Lik wanted to make something which would have a positive impact on people’s lives and stop them from suffering the same fate as his late father.
The use of E-Cigarettes in the UK then didn’t really start getting popular until around 2014, and now it is the most popular option for nicotine replacement therapy over other traditional methods previously used.
“Vaping” is the term used for when a person uses an E-Cigarette to receive their nicotine. The device used will contain an atomiser or a coil as its otherwise known, and vape juice is used in the device, that normally contains nicotine specific to the person’s requirements based on how much they previously smoked. The power button is pressed, the coil heats up, heats the vape juice up and ultimately this then produces the vapor for the user to inhale and exhale, and nicotine is absorbed into the system at the point of inhalation. The vapor is exhaled, and this is how the clouds of vapor are produced.
Is Vaping Harmful?
This is the question on everyone’s lips who may be wanting to start vaping but are unsure. Especially due to the fact there has been so much negative press and “studies” released over the years detailing the dangers of vaping, but there has always been surrounding circumstances that aren’t always fully spoken about when these articles are published.
There has been no short-term scientific evidence released by reputable sources that proves that vaping is harmful, and the fact that Vaping hasn’t been prominent in society for long enough means that here cannot be any long-term research done on it either.
Vaping was declared as 95% safer than smoking by Public Health England back in 2016, and as recently as last year, this statement was lamented yet again by Public Health England with a firm stance that vaping is in fact much safer than smoking. GPs and local stop smoking services in England are also backing Vaping, by prompting people to try an E-Cigarette as their first port of call for nicotine replacement therapy. If vaping was harmful to people, Dr’s certainly wouldn’t be recommending it that’s for sure!
Is Nicotine Harmful?
Another question that is frequently asked, and it’s asked due to the fact of people simply not being educated on this subject, as well as misperception of people after reading the misinformation about vaping that is being published.
Nicotine is not harmful, and there has not been any scientific proven evidence that Nicotine is harmful to people.
The common misperception from people is that Nicotine is one of the harmful chemicals in cigarettes and plays a part in the formation of deadly diseases linked with smoking, like cancer or heart disease. But this is wrong, as the harmful chemicals that cause these diseases are actually the tar and carbon monoxide which is produced when a cigarette is lit and the chemicals are ingested into the body. A lit cigarette contains over 6000+ chemicals and a very high volume of them are considered as carcinogens and harmful to the body.
Nicotine is not one of these as it is not harmful, nor does it change to a carcinogen when heated. There are a few, and I mean very few of the same chemicals produced in vapour, but the low levels of them compared to the extreme levels found in cigarettes make them nothing to worry about.
Why you should make the switch to vaping from smoking
Making the switch to vaping comes with many benefits, with an improvement in health and lowering your risk of contracting a deadly disease like the ones above being the priority benefits.
It also saves you a considerable amount of money as vaping is cheaper than smoking. The average cost of someone smoking is over £4000 a year if they were a 20 a day smoker, whereas the cost of Vaping over a 12-month period is a fraction of this dependant on the amount of vape juice you may get through, but this number will barely even come close to the staggering figure of what smoking costs a person!
It’s also quite distinctive and noticeable when a person has smoked a cigarette, as the smell of the smoke will stick to a person’s clothes, in their hair, and also breathe. None of this happens with vaping, as the vapour clouds just disperse in the air, due to it being formed of molecules and it doesn’t linger around leaving a nasty scent like what smoking does. Vapor doesn’t stain walls or furniture like that cigarette smoke does, due to the nicotine and tar contained in it.
And as mentioned, your health will improve almost instantly when you make the switch from smoking to vaping. It’s estimated that people will notice the effects within 2 weeks of making the switch, and after a year of no smoking, the risk of contracting a deadly disease like heart disease or lung conditions will drop right down by 50% so it really is a no brainer as to why you should consider switching to vaping sooner rather than later and start reaping the benefits of vaping!
Vaping explained
Another really confusing part of vaping is understanding all the terminology involved, or ‘lingo’ as its dubbed occassioanlly. I remember when I first got into vaping, I didn’t understand a word that the guy in the vape shop was saying to me, but he broke it down and explained it all well enough that I felt comfortable with the choices I made to quit smoking. Fast forward two years, and I became the person behind the counter in that same shop explaining things to my customers to make them feel comfortable and ready to go on their vaping journey! I’m going to break this section down into separate parts talking about different vape kits, different vape juices, and what would be right for you if you’re a beginner to vaping.
Vape Kits explained
Choosing your first vape kit can be tricky when you start your vaping journey. There are several different types of vape device on the market which span from starter kit level right up to advanced level for more experienced vapers. I’m going to discuss which would be the best starter kits more as if you’re reading this, I imagine you are new to vaping and looking to dip your toe into the water so won’t need anything to technical to start, and you’ll want to know the best first vape kit to buy!
Vape Pen / AIO Vape Kit – A simple and straight forward vaping device which is ideal for someone starting out. Normally slimline and discreet in design, you just simply have to put your vape juice in, and you’re away! These devices will use a coil that needs changing every week or two depending on how much you use it.
Pod Device System – Another easy-to-use device, but this time the device features a pod that is refillable with whatever flavour or nicotine strength vape juice you desire, and either the pod will be completely disposable once it’s reached the end of its life, or you can change the coil inside of it. The benefit of these pod systems is that the pods are interchangeable so you can have different ones set up and ready to go, and just switch between them so you don’t get bored of the same flavour, or you can have a higher or lower nicotine strength in different pods to switch between.
Disposables – These are hugely popular amongst vapers today, and they are a very convenient method to vape, especially if you’re wanting to see if vaping is for you, or you don’t want to faff around with changing coils etc. There are so many different options on the market today so the choices are almost endless! One thing to consider is they are not the most affordable way to vape, with some people finding a single disposable can only last them one day and they retail anywhere from £4-£6 a device so can soon add up!
Sub Ohm Mod Kit – These are designed for more advanced vapers who have moved on from vaping for a replacement of cigarette smoking, and now enjoy vaping just for the flavours and cloud making. Usually people who use these devices have lowered their nicotine strength right down, and use something like a 3mg nicotine strength and do not use these devices to replicate smoking, using a Direct to Lung (DTL) style of vaping, rather than the Mouth to Lung (MTL) vaping style, which is replicant of smoking a cigarette. These devices are also quite large in size and will have a longer battery life than the above mentioned.
Choosing the right nicotine strength
This is really the most important part of starting out on your vaping journey and choosing the right strength e-liquids can be quite confusing to start, but fear not, that’s what this part of the article will explain! I’ll also discuss the two different types of nicotine used in vape juice and what the benefits of each are.
Light smoker – If you were a light smoker of around 10 cigarettes a day, you’ll want to use a lower nicotine strength vape juice, something like a 3mg or 6mg strength freebase nicotine vape juice, or a 10mg nicotine salt vape juice
Medium smoker – This is for people who are in between light and heavy, and smoked over 10, but less than 20 cigarettes a day. If this is you, you’ll want to use something like a 12mg freebase or 20mg Nicotine Salt vape juice. Nicotine salt gives a much more smooth throat hit than freebase, so it might sound bizarre using a 20mg, but I explain this better below.
Heavy Smoker – If you smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day, then this puts you in the class of a heavy smoker. Nothing wrong with this, you’re not alone. But you will need to start out using a higher strength nicotine e-liquid which an 18mg freebase nicotine would suffice, or a 20mg nicotine salt.
All vape juice is made up of the same things, but sometimes the ratios will be different depending on what device it’s designed to be used in. It will contain Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), Flavourings, and Nicotine (which will vary depending on the strength used) all of these ingredients are safe to use, and nothing is added into vape juice that shouldn’t be as all vape juice sold in the UK has to adhere to strict legislations and regulations set out in the Tobacco Products Directive released in 2015.
Different types of Nicotine explained
As you saw me mention above, there are two different types of Nicotine used in vape juice, Freebase Nicotine and Nicotine Salt
Freebase Nicotine is the nicotine that’s been used in vape juice since the very beginning of vape juice being manufactured and can be sued to create a wider range of nicotine strengths for people from as low as 1.5mg right up to 18mg.
Nicotine Salt is a different form of Nicotine, which uses the Freebase as a base, but then has a weak acid added to it to neutralise the pH levels slightly, meaning a higher nicotine strength can be vaped without it being harsh on the throat when inhaling. It’s also faster absorbed into the bloodstream than standard Freebase which some people prefer more.
All of our juices at 2X are made using our patented Nicotine called WholeNic which is like Nicotine Salt, but using the full spectrum of alkaloids found in a tobacco leaf to make it completely unique to us and provide a satisfying vaping experience.
What’s a Vape Coil?
As mentioned above, every vaping device regardless of the design will contain a coil, which is effectively the heart of any device, and if the coil doesn’t function properly, neither will your device!
Most coils will have a life span of around 1-2 weeks, and must be regularly changed for your vape to function at optimal levels, and for you to still get a flavoursome vape without tasting burnt cotton.
Each coil is made up of a small amount of wire wrapped into a coil shape, with cotton threaded through it as the wick which is where the juice is absorbed into. The coil is heated up via the device and this is what heats this liquid up to produce the vapour. Over time, the cotton will burn away, and this is when you need to replace your coil.
Different types of vape kit will feature different coils, so make sure you’re familiar with what ones you need, and always have a spare at hand as you don’t want to get caught short!
Conclusion
I hope this vape guide was helpful to you if you’re now wanting to start out on your vaping journey but weren’t sure to start, and it has explained everything you need to know. From the different types of vape kits, explaining the difference between MTL vaping and Sub ohm vaping, choosing the best vape kit for you, and what nicotine strength would be right for you.
If your new year’s resolution is to quit smoking, and give vaping a try, then now really is the best time to do it!
