The best chance at success is to keep it simple with the device you buy. Simple vapes are in no way inferior to advanced devices; they’re just easier to use. Step 1: Get a beginner starter kit. No matter the look, they all make vapor in the same way. These devices range in price from about $20 to about $60. There are four major categories for these kinds of vape kits for you to choose from. Pod vapes: prefilled or refillable; disposable cartridges AIOs: refillable; replaceable coil E-cigarettes: prefilled or refillable; disposable cartridges Disposable e-cigarettes: prefilled; the entire device is disposable

When you vape for the first time, the way you inhale can make or break the experience. This is extremely important! If you inhale incorrectly, it could lead to coughing or an unpleasant rush of nicotine. There are basically two types of inhalation techniques: mouth-to-lung and direct-lung. The ideal inhalation technique depends on the vape you want to use. Mouth-to-lung MTL hits will normally work best in smaller vapes with high resistance coils, using high nicotine. When you take a drag from these devices, no matter the size of the device, it should feel like sucking air through a coffee straw. It should be tight! This type of draw makes low vapor and feels like the act of smoking, providing a similar type of hit to the throat that many smokers crave. It’s a simple technique. Slowly draw vapor into your mouth for a few seconds Hold the vapor in your closed mouth for a second or two Open mouth and breathe in the vapor to your lungs (not a “swallow”) Exhale after vapor is in lungs Direct lung The DL hit is mostly ideal for larger vapes with low resistance coils, using low nicotine. Taking a drag on one of these devices will usually feel like sucking air through a milkshake straw. This type of draw makes the most vapor and feels like taking a “bong hit,” though it’s considered smooth and easy since it’s used mostly with low or zero nicotine. Quickly draw vapor directly to the lungs Exhale vapor almost immediately If you can’t figure out the best draw for your vape, or if your device has adjustable airflow, the nicotine content is the best gauge for how to inhale it. As a rule of thumb, high nicotine (12 mg – 60 mg) is better suited for MTL, and low nicotine (0 mg – 6 mg) is best for direct lung inhales. Medium nicotine (6 mg – 12 mg) can be okay for both types of inhaling, but typically 6 mg is the cut-off for direct lung inhales.

The decision to start vaping is a personal choice for adults to make, usually to combat an addiction to smoking. Vapes are not wellness or smoking cessation products, though they have helped many people become tobacco and smoke-free. Vaping has its fair share of pros and cons, but the act of vaping is considered harm reduction – particularly when the only alternative is smoking.

Cancers form when toxins damage the DNA of cells and cause them to grow and multiply out of control. A tumor can remain local, or the cancer can spread, and even move from one organ to another (metastasize). Most people are familiar with cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Lung cancer kills more Americans than any other kind of cancer, and most (but not all) lung cancer victims are smokers or former smokers. Smoking can cause many other kinds of cancer too, because cancers can form not just from direct contact with smoke particles, but also from smoke byproducts in the bloodstream and organs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. Carcinogens have been found in vapes, but at levels that suggest the cancer risk is very low. According to a 2017 study in the journal Tobacco Control, the cancer risk of vaping is on a par with the risk posed by pharmaceutical products like nicotine gum or patches—less than one percent the cancer risk of smoking. According to the study, the only byproducts of vaping that posed a real risk were carbonyls produced by overheating the vape device (as explained in the formaldehyde section of this article below). Other researchers have come to similar conclusions. A 2016 study published in the journal Mutation Research tested both e-cig vapor and cigarette smoke for their ability to cause cell mutations in bacteria. The smoke caused mutations (mutagenic), and was also toxic to the bacteria, while the vapor was not mutagenic or toxic.