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The switch from smoking to vaping raises many open questions for beginners. In addition to the suitable e-cigarette and the individual favorite aero, a personally suitable nicotine strength of the liquids must now be found. Since everyone has different demands here, it is advisable to try out different strengths. But even former smoking habits can serve as a guide for choosing the right nicotine strength for the e-liquids.

What factors play a role in choosing the right nicotine concentration for an e-liquid?
The answer to this question depends mainly on two conditions, namely you and your e-cigarette.

Your personal consumption behavior and your “nicotine hunger” both play a decisive role in the selection of a suitable nicotine concentration for your liquid. So would you prefer to puff your e-cigarette more regularly or do you prefer to have satisfied your nicotine needs with just a few puffs? How many cigarettes have you smoked before and what is your nicotine requirement?

The hardware used is also important. If you vape with a large and powerful e-cigarette from the sub-ohm range, which has a correspondingly large vapor development and vaporizes large amounts of liquid, you need a lower nikton concentration in your liquid than if you operate with smaller baking steam devices.

What strength of nicotine do I need?
Which strength is the right one is made dependent on previous cigarette consumption. The question is therefore whether you were, for example, a heavy smoker who let several packages go up in smoke or are just an occasional smoker who now wants to finally get rid of his vice.

The answer is easy: the more you smoke, the stronger the liquid should be. So beginners shouldn’t set their goals too high. First of all, it is important that the planned switch from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes succeeds. As soon as this first success is recorded, a gradual reduction in the nicotine content can be considered.

A nicotine content of 12 milligrams or more is suitable for formerly heavy smokers who previously smoked several packets a day. Such a high proportion of nicotine in the liquid ensures that the nicotine level remains at a constantly high level and thus the desire for a normal cigarette is permanently suppressed.

However, this rough recommendation can only be made with reservations, as the hardware used, i.e. your e-cigarette itself, as already mentioned, also plays a decisive role. Even formerly intensive smokers will probably find a nicotine concentration of 12 mg and more in a powerful sub-ohm e-cigarette too strong and scratchy. Regardless of the user, we usually recommend a maximum nicotine concentration of 6 mg for these devices. In our experience, liquids with higher concentrations are also unsuitable for high-performance sub-ohm e-cigarettes in terms of taste.

For occasional smokers (less than a box per day), who have so far been without cigarettes for a long time, we recommend starting in the medium range (6-12 mg) for smaller baking steamers and cig-a-likes. If a sub-ohm e-cigarette is used, we recommend a maximum nicotine concentration of 3 mg to the occasional smoker for reasons of taste. Nicotine concentrations that are significantly higher in the sub-ohm range often have the property of being uncomfortably scratchy.

Nicotine salt liquids are actually exactly the same as regular e-liquids. However, since nicotine salts are absorbed faster and more effectively by the body, you should in principle work with lower values. MTL e-cigarettes are best suited for this.

What is the “flash” or “throat hit” when vaping e-cigarettes?
The feeling that arises when inhaling smoke or steam is referred to as a flash or throat hit. Many vapers also describe it as a kind of pressure in the throat or in the lungs. However you like to put it, it is ultimately what many smokers, ex-smokers and vapers attach great importance to. So it is the “smoke feeling” par excellence. The flash becomes stronger the more nicotine is contained in a liquid.

However, the vaporizer itself also has an influence on the flash. This is the part of the e-cigarette that – as the name suggests – converts the liquid into vapor. The more steam is generated, the more liquid is used per puff and the stronger the flash. So if you buy an e-cigarette with an adjustable voltage or wattage, you can turn up the power accordingly and get a decent flash even with weaker liquid. Together with the different liquid strengths, it is thus possible to continuously reduce the nicotine content.

Slowly but surely: reduce the nicotine content
Anyone who has smoked for several years should take it slowly with the reduction of the liquid. At the beginning it is only important that the switch from tobacco to e-cigarettes is mastered. If the desire for a normal cigarette (also known as “pyro” among vapers) has largely been eliminated, a gradual reduction in the nicotine content can be considered. However, vapers should only go so far that there is no desire for a pyro. In this way, the addiction to nicotine can be counteracted step by step.