How to choose your e-liquid?

It is a question every beginner vaper will inevitably ask themselves: how do you choose the right e-liquid for your electronic cigarette? Find our answers to help you make the best choice!

I - Everything you need to know about e-liquid

- The composition of e-liquid

What is an electronic cigarette liquid actually made of? E-liquids are mainly made up of four components:

• Propylene glycol (PG): a flavour-carrying base, the PG content acts as an emulsifier and allows the flavours in your electronic cigarette liquid to be reproduced accurately. PG also provides a good throat hit, depending on the nicotine strength associated with it.
• Vegetable glycerine (VG): colourless, viscous, transparent, sweet, odourless and non-toxic, vegetable glycerine is also used in e-cigarette liquids. VG produces more abundant vapour.
• Nicotine: while you can certainly choose a nicotine-free e-liquid, nicotine may still be part of your final product. To determine the nicotine concentration for your e-liquid, several criteria set out below need to be taken into account.
• Flavourings: sweet, menthol or even similar to the tobacco taste of conventional cigarettes, the flavourings you choose may be natural or artificial, depending on your preferences.

- How do you choose PG/VG ratios?

Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine ratios should be balanced according to your needs and expectations. If you want excellent flavour reproduction and a pronounced throat hit, without producing large amounts of vapour, you should choose a liquid with a PG ratio much higher than its VG ratio. Conversely, if you want to make clouds of vapour while limiting throat hit and reducing the nicotine strength, you should choose a VG ratio higher than the PG ratio.

II- Selection criteria

The vast majority of vapers turn to electronic cigarettes to move away from conventional cigarettes and tobacco. If the e-cigarette is used as a smoking cessation product, it makes sense to choose e-liquids suited to the smoker's needs. If their cravings are not satisfied, they may feel like returning to their old, harmful habits of tobacco and conventional cigarettes. This is the particular nature of an electronic cigarette, and precisely one of the main reasons why vapers remain loyal to it over time: choosing the right liquid is therefore crucial. Would you like to embark on the adventure but do not know what to choose from among the multitude of products on the vaping market? Several criteria should be considered to guide your choice:

• What nicotine strength will you need in your e-liquid?
• Which flavour(s) would you like to prioritise?
• What will the composition (VG/PG ratio) of your electronic cigarette liquid be?

1- Nicotine strength and the ideal throat hit

If you have decided to switch to vaping, it was certainly to break away from conventional cigarettes and their harmful effects. To successfully quit smoking, you will need to find complete satisfaction in the electronic cigarette, and more specifically in the e-liquid, that you choose.

The throat hit:

The nicotine in your e-liquid not only allows smokers to satisfy a genuine need and address a potential deficiency caused by quitting tobacco, but it also provides a particular sensation known as a “throat hit”. What is a throat hit? It is simply the sensation caused by the contraction in the throat as the vapour passes through it, comparable to the sensations produced by tobacco in a conventional cigarette.
Do you like what is known as a throat “catch”? Certainly! However, to achieve the ideal throat hit, you need to adjust the nicotine strength according, in particular, to your equipment (see the explanation below).

The importance of the right nicotine strength:

Your previous tobacco consumption habits and your needs will determine the nicotine strength that would be best added to your e-liquid. Nicotine concentration is expressed in milligrams per millilitre (mg/ml). Nicotine concentration is therefore crucial to making the experience as suitable as possible. Indeed, if:

• The nicotine concentration is too low: the vaper will not get the satisfaction they need, and their needs will not be properly met.
• The nicotine concentration is too high: an excessive dose of nicotine may cause rather troublesome effects, such as headaches and sometimes even nausea. Furthermore, the “throat hit” experienced will itself become unpleasant and may cause coughing with every puff.

For these reasons, before buying an e-liquid, you will need to determine your needs precisely beforehand.

Which nicotine concentration for which profile?

Thanks to the specialist questionnaire, more commonly known as the “Fagerström test”, you can roughly determine your level of nicotine dependence and, consequently, the amount you need to meet your requirements. Available online, the test asks 6 different questions about your consumption habits:

• How soon after waking up do you smoke your first cigarette?
• Do you find it difficult to refrain from smoking in places where it is forbidden?
• Which cigarette of the day would you find hardest to give up?
• On average, how many cigarettes do you smoke per day?
• Do you smoke more in the morning than in the afternoon?
• Do you smoke when you are ill, to the point of having to stay in bed almost all day?

The information collected will enable you to be placed in one of the smoker profile categories. On average, this shows that:

• A nicotine strength between 16 and 18 mg/ml is suitable for “heavy smokers”, who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day and are looking for a pronounced throat hit.
• A nicotine strength between 11 and 12 mg/ml is suitable for “average” smokers, who smoke 10 to 20 cigarettes a day.
• A nicotine strength of 6 mg/ml is more suited to very moderate smokers, whose cigarette consumption does not exceed 10 cigarettes a day and who prefer flavours to a pronounced throat hit.
• A nicotine strength of 3 mg/ml is aimed at so-called “occasional” smokers, whose cigarette consumption does not exceed 5 a day. This strength is intended for new vapers who want a small nicotine intake while enjoying intense flavours.
• A nicotine strength of 0 mg/ml: for vapers looking for flavourful vapour, without nicotine.

Power and nicotine strength: 

However, it should be noted that these figures are averages and do not take into account all the factors inherent in using an e-cigarette. Indeed, the relationship between the nicotine concentration in a conventional cigarette and the nicotine strength in an e-cigarette may vary according to certain criteria, including the power of your e-cigarette.

Indeed, a novice vaper using a low- or medium-powered e-cigarette, i.e. under 20 watts, will be able to rely more easily on the correspondences mentioned above. On the other hand, a vaper choosing more advanced equipment, with a higher-powered e-cigarette (over 30 watts), will certainly need to adjust their nicotine concentration somewhat to avoid an overly pronounced throat hit that may become almost unpleasant.

To understand this better, you should know that the higher the power of your e-cigarette, the more vapour it will produce. More vapour means a much higher nicotine concentration, as it is released in greater quantities. This is why you need to balance it according to the equipment you use.

E-liquid consumption vs number of cigarettes: 

For a smoker seeking to quit, it is important to get an idea of the amount of e-liquid they will need to consume to meet the nicotine requirement previously provided by conventional cigarettes. Although it is not possible to determine the exact equivalence between the number of cigarettes smoked during the day to satisfy nicotine needs and the amount of e-liquid required, online calculators can give you an estimate of ideal consumption. To obtain this result, you will need to enter:

• The number of cigarettes you usually smoke each day.
• The nicotine strength per cigarette.
• The nicotine strength of the e-liquid you plan to choose.

Find out how long a bottle of e-liquid lasts.

2- The type of flavour you are looking for

There are currently five main categories of flavours. These e-liquids include:

• Menthol: highly popular, mint e-liquids are among the must-haves of vaping. Fresh and pleasant, menthol flavours are reminiscent of the menthol cigarettes found in tobacconists. 
  Example: Le Menthe Fraîche du Vapoteur Discount, somewhere between mild and intense mint.
• Fruity: Peach, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple… All tastes are found in nature and, above all, in your e-liquids! Treat yourself to variety and you are sure not to get bored. You can even mix flavours together. It is all a matter of calculation and balance!
  Example: Fruits Rouges du Vapoteur Discount e-liquid is one of the catalogue's best-sellers.
• Classic (i.e. with a “tobacco” flavour): this is the flavour most commonly recommended for beginner vapers wishing to quit tobacco. Indeed, a “classic tobacco” flavoured e-liquid allows newcomers to gradually and easily get used to their new vaping experience.
  Example: TB USA du Vapoteur Discount, with its highly appreciated American classic flavour.
• Gourmet: recently introduced to the vaping market, so-called “gourmet” flavours offer original flavours to vapers looking for something new and sometimes exotic! From every kind of cake to the most popular sweets, enjoy delicious vapour every day.
  Example: Spé'culos du Vapoteur Discount e-liquid and its cinnamon biscuit flavour.
• Drink-inspired: Coca-Cola, bourbon, mojito… Indulge yourself!
  Example: Café Mocha du Vapoteur Discount.

Can you mix e-liquids?

It is one of the most frequently asked questions: can you mix e-liquids together? The answer is yes!
And for two reasons:

• To give yourself a new taste, a personalised flavour. Nothing stops you from mixing a strawberry flavour with a menthol flavour, for example! These e-liquids already exist on the market, such as the fresh fruity flavours in the The Raid or Fruity Fresh ranges from Vapoteur Discount.
• To adjust a nicotine concentration: you bought an e-liquid with a nicotine strength of 12 mg/ml and ultimately find it too strong? On the other hand, you have a second e-liquid at 6 mg/ml, but it turns out to be too mild for your taste? There is no need to throw your e-liquids away; simply rebalance them correctly. To do this, mix the two in equal amounts and volumes to obtain a rebalanced concentration of 9 mg/ml!

III- Warnings

E-liquids must be handled with care. Whether you make your own e-liquids in DIY, or opt for a ready-made e-cigarette e-liquid, you need to protect yourself from direct contact with it in certain cases.

• If your e-liquid does not contain nicotine: do not panic, there is very little risk. The PG/VG ratios in e-liquid are safe for your skin, as they are already used in everyday products such as cosmetics.
• If your e-liquid contains nicotine: be careful. Nicotine can be somewhat harmful to the skin, even though the risk is limited thanks to the PG/VG concentration it is mixed with. If your skin has come into contact with the product, simply take the time to rinse it with clean water!

What does being a Vapoteur Discount customer mean? 

Being a Vapoteur Discount customer means the guarantee of buying at the best price and benefiting from optimal-quality service.

It also means access to a catalogue featuring the best e-liquid brands with volume discounts. 

Enjoy choosing, and see you soon!

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