Quitting smoking is crucial, and understanding the nicotine intake from your vape can make a significant difference in either quitting or reverting to smoking. It’s simpler to keep track of how many cigarettes you’ve smoked, but equating that amount to your vape usage is an entirely different matter. With vaping, determining the equivalent to cigarettes might be tricky, but it’s feasible to get a rough estimate.
Firstly, how much nicotine is in a cigarette?
Typically, it’s suggested that cigarettes contain an average of 8mg to 20mg per cigarette. Some cigarettes are stronger than others, but this is only the amount contained in tobacco. It’s not the amount you’re likely to absorb through smoking. In reality, numerous researchers suggest that you absorb as little as 1 to 2mg of nicotine per cigarette! This could be due to several factors such as the burning of tobacco and how our bodies absorb these chemicals.
So, if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you’re looking to be absorbing around 20mg-40mg of nicotine a day. This gives us a basis regarding how much you should vape, but it is only an educated guess, it can easily vary between people so should always be taken with a pinch of salt. With vaping it’s very easy to tell how much you’re vaping and the amount of nicotine you’re getting, but cigarettes don’t have a ‘set’ nicotine amount and can vary between batches and even per cig!
The basics of vaping and nicotine amount in Disposable Vapes.
On a much simpler end of the scale, E-Liquid contains an obvious amount of nicotine per disposable. A disposable vape with a 2ml tank (the legal max size in the UK) with a 20mg nicotine or Nic Salt, contains 40mg of nicotine in the entire disposable (2ml x 20mg). This is why most disposables are suggested to be the equivalent of a pack of 20 cigarettes.
When it comes to the absorption of nicotine from vaping, this can also vary due to the way you vape, MTL or DTL, the type of E-Liquid, the device you use, even your own physiology! Some is naturally lost during the process of vaporising the E-Liquid. Plus vaping provides a slower release of nicotine compared to smoking, so you may feel like you need to vape either more, or a higher nicotine strength to make up for it.
Calculating the nicotine amount.
This easy sum gives us a rough estimate of how much nicotine we vape in comparison to smoking. If an average cigarette contains 1-2mg of nicotine that we actually absorb, we can do some simple maths.
The highest likely absorbed amount of nicotine from a cigarette is: 2mg x 20 cigarettes per day = 40mg. A 2ml disposable device of 20mg nicotine would be: 2ml x 20mg/ml = 40mg.
This suggests that a whole disposable is roughly around the same nicotine value as that of a pack of strong cigarettes. For heavy smokers or those who heavily vape, a disposable vape may not quite last them the day, but a disposable device with 20mg Nicotine Salts like our Pod Salt Go 600 will definitely help Hit the Spot.
The difference between delivery and absorption .
Vaping offers a much more efficient delivery method of nicotine than cigarettes but it’s not the same when it comes to absorption. Depending on how you vape, whether you take long deep puffs and the strength of your E-Liquid, the amount you absorb can vary.
A study that looked at the latest E-Cigarettes in comparison to first-generation E-Cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, found some interesting results. Those that used an 18mg nicotine strength E-Liquid after 5 minutes of use, absorbed around one-third to one-fifth of the amount of nicotine compared to smoking. Therefore, it’s been noted that E-Cigarettes tend to deliver nicotine slower than tobacco cigarettes, so you may end up taking more puffs to get the desired amount of nicotine despite the seemingly high nicotine strength.
This could be due to cigarettes containing over 4000 additives that also include those that specifically strengthen nicotine addiction. Whereas E-Liquids only contain PG (propylene glycol), VG (vegetable glycerine), nicotine, and flavourings.
The rule of thumb .
With so many variables involved, most vaping experts have decided on a simple metric to especially help those making the initial switch to vaping.
Generally, most disposables are offered at 20mg (either as Freebase but more commonly as Nicotine Salts). There are some brands that offer lower strengths such as 10mg or 11mg that may be preferable to lighter smokers.
The key to ensuring a good nicotine hit from vaping is to make sure that you take long, slow draws on your disposable vape. If you’re noticing that you’re vaping quite a lot, you may need to increase your nicotine strength. Although you will more than likely vape more than you used to smoke, due to the slower intake of nicotine, there’s a difference if you are still not feeling satisfied without excess. If you find you’re puffing through multiple disposables in a short time, then a higher strength may be necessary and you may be better off switching to a refillable tank kit. If you’re noticing that you’re getting frequent headaches or coughs when you take a puff, then your nicotine strength could be too high, and you may need to decrease it.
Quitting smoking can be challenging, but vaping offers a much safer alternative and is certainly a significant step towards quitting smoking, and eventually nicotine. You can find more information and assistance with making the initial step to quitting by seeking advice from your GP or local stop-smoking group.
