Vaping is a safe and effective way for people to wean themselves off of cigarettes. Vaping is done with an electronic device - an e-cig, vape pen, box mod, pod mod etc - that heats a liquid that may or may not contain nicotine. Heating the liquid, called “vape juice”, produces a cloud of vapor that the user then inhales. But what is vape juice, are there different kinds, and which is the best kind for you? As purveyors of wholesale vaporizers we’re asked these questions all the time, so we thought we’d address them in this post.

What is Vape Juice?

Vape juice also goes by the names “e-liquid” and “e-juice” and is typically composed of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, a natural or artificial flavoring and nicotine. The amount of nicotine varies from vape juice to vape juice, and there are some that contain no nicotine at all. Many people wean themselves off cigarettes by using vape juices that contain progressively less nicotine.

As for the other ingredients, propylene glycol or PG is an odorless, colorless liquid that has a very faint sweet taste to it. PG is generally recognized as safe for human consumption by the FDA and is sometimes used in ice cream, liquid sweeteners, whipped dairy products and other edibles. Vegetable glycerin is used to smooth out the effect of vaporizing PG. In its normal state vegetable glycerin is thick and sweet. Different vape juices use different types of natural or artificial flavors, though some are unflavored.

Is Vape Juice Safe?

The hysterical foot soldiers of the anti-smoking cabal tend to go apoplectic at the sight of anything that resembles smoke being emitted from a person's mouth. However, there is precious little scientific evidence to support the notion that vape juice represents any type of health threat. What you will often hear instead of evidence is speculation, misrepresentation and political posturing posing as evidence. The fact is, if the FDA had any concrete evidence to support the notion that vape juice presented a quantifiable real-world danger its sale would not be allowed.

Are Vapor and Smoke the Same Thing?

As people who sell wholesale vaporizers, we constantly hear folks claiming that cigarette smoke and vapors are the same thing. They're not. Smoke is a product of burning something, whether it be wood, paper, tobacco or herb. When a material is burned it releases solid microparticles and gases into the air and this is what we call smoke. Burning something also produces ash, which is why we need ashtrays for things like cigarettes.

Vapor, on the other hand, is produced by heating a fluid that produces a liquid aerosol, similar to steam. Vapor is completely different from smoke when it comes to chemical composition, temperature, how long it persists in the atmosphere and the taste sensation it produces. The vapor from vape juices is also fundamentally different in terms of the threat - or rather, the lack of threat - it poses to your health.

Which Vape Juice Flavor is Best?

Taste is entirely subjective so the flavor you choose will depend on your own personal taste. Most people try a variety of different flavors before settling on one they like. And there are a multitude to choose from including fruit flavors like raspberry and strawberry, a variety of minty flavors, chocolate, and caramel. There are also some pretty bizarre and unexpected flavors available including tuna, bacon, chicken, cheese, coffee, garlic and many more.

What is the Right Amount of Nicotine to Quit Smoking?

One of the many great things about vape juice is that you can pick from various levels of nicotine content. That said, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to which nicotine level is best to help people quit smoking. It depends in large part on how long they smoked and how heavy a smoker they were. For instance…

If you only smoked occasionally, say, a couple of times a week, or only when you went out, you would be classified as a “social” smoker. The bottom line is that if you were able to control your urge for a cigarette to such a degree your nicotine addiction was not very intense and you should be fine with something like 10mg of nicotine.

If you smoked less than half a pack of cigarettes per day you would be considered a "light" smoker. Like social smokers, many light smokers do just fine with 10mg of nicotine salt in their vape juice. Some may want to try something a bit more potent; perhaps 15-20mg. But it's up to the individual.

Someone who smoked around a pack of cigarettes per day would be considered an “average” smoker. Experience tells us that average smokers hoping to quit by way of vaping usually settle on around 20mg of nicotine salts in their vaping liquid. Although, again, that could change depending on the individual.

Anyone who smokes more than a pack of cigarettes per day is considered a "heavy" smoker. For these folks, the nicotine content of their vape juice typically ranges from around 20mg to as much as 50mg. That's because someone smoking 2 or more packs per day has a significant nicotine addiction that they’ll want to satisfy if the vaping process is going to help them quit.

Those of us who sell wholesale vaporizers (like our online vape shop team) have seen all kinds of cigarette smokers free themselves of their addiction using vaporizers and vape juice. You can do it too. Use the above information to determine which type of e-juice is right for your situation.