Which E-liquid strength is right for me?

You’ve decided to make the switch from smoking to vaping and you’ve already chosen Vape69 for your e-liquids. Both great moves. Now you’re wondering which strength vape juice is right for you? Don’t worry. We’ve got all the answers for you right here.

What the hell is Nicotine strength?

We see that confused look on your face. And we’re about to wipe it off. You might have seen nicotine strength displayed as a percentage or in mg (milligrams) on bottles of vape liquid. Both are the same thing – it’s the amount of nicotine in each millilitre of e-liquid.

So a 10ml bottle that’s 10mg/ml or 1.0% has 100mg of nicotine in total. Another way to put it is that 1% of the entire contents of the bottle is nicotine.

Percentages? I didn’t know we were back in Maths class!

We promise buying vape juice won’t take you back to your school days in Maths class. You just need to work out your percentages.

The lower the mg/ml or percentage, the less nicotine is in the e-liquid. For example, an 18mg or 1.8% is much stronger than a 4mg or 0.4%

The general rule of thumb is the stronger the vape liquid, the more nicotine is delivered and the more intense the throat hit; someone who is a heavier smoker would choose an e-liquid with a higher nicotine strength than someone who only smokes twice a day.

At Vape69, we go up to 18mg for a smooth transition from smoking. However, it isn’t just about the amount of nicotine in the bottle.

Take control of your nicotine hit

When e-cigarettes first started to do rounds, there wasn’t any way of controlling the amount of vapour or the intensity of the throat hit. These days, the majority of e-cigs have variable output. Ta, technology!

So by simply turning up the output wattage or voltage and changing your atomizer head resistance, you can control both your nicotine delivery and your throat hit.

All you have to do is remember, the higher the resistance the longer the atomizer takes to heat up which means less vapour and a less intense throat hit. But the lower the resistance (typically sub-ohm) the quicker your atomizer will heat up and the more vapour and more intense throat hit you get.

If you’ve got a sub-ohm atomizer, it’s likely a 1.8% nicotine strength will be far too strong, so go lower. However, if you choose a higher resistance atomizer head, you might not get the nicotine delivery and throat hit you want from your 0.3% e-liquid. In this case, go higher.

When it comes down to it, it’s pretty much just making sure you find the right balance between e-cigarette tank, vape mod, and atomizer head. You want to find the ultimate combo that will compliment the strength of your vape juice, and allow you to vape all day without reaching for a cigarette.

It’s all about the technique

MTL? DL? You might have seen some of these phrases floating about in the vape space.

MTL stands for mouth to lung and is the traditional way that most people inhale – you draw the vapour into your mouth, then inhale it back. DL, on the other hand, stands for direct lung and skips the mouth part from the MTL technique. Instead you take one long draw from the e-cigarette, inhaling it right back in.

That’s great, but how does it affect nicotine strength?

The MTL technique is forgiving when it comes to nicotine strength and it’s the way that most people vape. It lets you use strengths from 0.0% up to 1.8% comfortably. Win, win. But you wouldn’t catch many using the DL technique on a high nicotine strength because it gives you a much greater throat hit. This means something like a 1.8% vape juice would be uncomfortable to vape if you directly inhaled it. An extremely low nicotine strength – something like 0.0% to 0.3% – is much better if you’re DL vaping.

Percentages and technique. It all comes down to percentages and technique.

The choice is in your hands

For most people, vaping is a way to stop smoking cigarettes. If you’ve recently switched over, you’ll need to find a nicotine strength that allows you to vape instead of smoke.

If you still have that urge to reach for a cig, you can increase the strength of your nicotine. The same goes for if you think you’ve chosen a nicotine strength that is too low and you find yourself reaching for your vape pen more than you’d like.

It’s okay to alter your nicotine strength until you find one that works. Just think of yourself as Goldilocks – well, if the three bears were avid vapers.

Use this guide as a starting point:

Number of cigarettes smoked (per day)	Recommended nicotine strength
1 – 5	0.6%
5 – 10	1.0%
15 – 20	1.4%
20 +	1.8%

Remember, each vaper is different. It’s perfectly normal to try a few different strengths out – whether you’re brand new to vaping, or just want to fine tune your vaping experience.

Got more questions about nicotine strength? You can contact us directly. We’re always happy to help.