When you're new to vaping, it can be hard to know where to start. There are many different styles of vapes, e-cigarettes and vape mods and many ways that you can purchase e-liquids (vape juice). The one thing that all vapers do have in common is that they all had to start somewhere.
In this blog post, we will explore what it is like to be new to vaping from both a personal standpoint as well as an objective perspective. We'll also cover some tips for getting started and breaking into the world of vaping!
Here at SMOKO, we have compiled a useful guide to help make that jump easier and to ensure you're ready to begin your e-cigarette experience.
From now, you are embarking on a journey to go ‘smoke-free' and it may take you a day, it may take you longer, but you CAN make the switch completely. We are here to help you on your way to quitting smoking. This beginners guide to vaping and e-cigarettes will give you everything you need to know about how to quit smoking.
THE HISTORY OF E-CIGARETTES
In 2003, a Chinese inventor came up with the idea for a small electronic cigarette that used ultrasound technology to transform nicotine-infused liquid into vapour.
On the back of this brilliant innovation, the first e-cigarette brought vaping to a much wider audience. The vaping devices used today are now powered by a built-in lithium ion battery and have highly visible and bright blue light at the end and they quickly gained a reputation for ease and convenience.
For all the choice and convenience, the first wave of vaping brands lacked something many smokers craved: a heightened physical sensation when inhaling and greater strength. But now the selection of e-cigarettes is wide - ranging from easy to use cigalikes and pod kits to more powerful and complicated vape mods, box mods and sub ohm devices.
But when you are getting started, the smaller and realistic devices like a cigalike are usually the first place most smokers start with.
MAKING THE BRAVE CHANGE TO E-CIGARETTES
If you are used to smoking regular cigarettes, it will naturally feel very different to begin with. You may notice that you cough a bit more regularly at the start, which is normal. This is because the vapour from an e-cig can be thicker than regular nicotine smoke. Another reason is that e-cigarettes don't contain the cough suppressing chemicals that cigarettes do. But do not let that put you off! The majority of people who cough when they first vape learn how to properly use an e-cigarette and are are soon happily puffing away.
Once you have made the decision to stop smoking and use an e-cigarette, you will not want to go back. Your sense of smell will come back as well as your taste buds and you will feel like a whole new person. Your breathing will become easier, you will have more energy and you will feel better about yourself – that we can promise you!
WHAT IS AN E-CIGARETTE?
Today, e-cigarettes have helped over 3.6m people in the UK to quit smoking cigarettes. In fact that in a study funded by Cancer Research UK they found that someone using E-Cigarettes to quit was almost twice as likely to succeed!
Yet there are still people who believe that vaping is as bad as or worse than traditional cigarettes. Despite the large amount of evidence that does clearly state that vaping is better than smoking, the question is constantly asked by regulatory bodies around the world.
Modern e-cigarettes are small devices which look and feel like a normal cigarette. What E-Cigarettes don't have though are the 4,000+ chemicals, toxins and 50+ known carcinogens that are found in normal cigarettes.
Another plus side of swapping your traditional cigarette for an e-cigarette is that it as you aren't getting all those toxins and carcinogens your chance of developing diseases/cancers within the lungs (and others) as well as some cardiovascular and brain development abnormalities starts to lower.
For example after just 1 year of using an e-cigarette (and not smoking) you will have halved your chance of getting a heart attack compared to a smoker!
To get the nicotine into your system an E-Cigarette rapidly heats up a nicotine e-liquid into a smoke-like vapour which you inhale like a normal cigarette. So you get the same nicotine hit, the same hand to mouth actions, a similar throat hit but in a much cleaner and healthier way.
In fact
HOW DO I CHOOSE MY FIRST E-CIGARETTE?
The first step is finding a reputable e-cigarette brand or vape shop (they are not available for young people, under the age of 18) like SMOKO E-Cigarettes.
Here at SMOKO we have helped thousands of people to live smoke-free for over 9 years. We only use the highest quality flavours and ingredients in our e-liquids that are Made in the UK. With hundreds of 5 star reviews and testimonials from our satisfied customers, you know you have found a reputable e-cigarette brand with SMOKO.
Once you have found the best e cigarette brand, we would normally suggest trying an easy to use cigalike starter kit first.
A cigalike is a closed vaping system that uses pre-filled cartridges or vape pods that have the heating element (coil or atomizer) and the e-liquid built in. The e-cigarette kits come with a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a USB charger and a couple of pre-filled flavoured refills. The SMOKO E-Cigarette uses a higher PG ratio in the e-liquid which give you a more realistic smoking sensation.
Finding your first e-cigarette doesn't have to be complicated - just find a small yet effective vape from a reputable company and give it a try.
Finding your first e-cigarette doesn't have to be complicated - just find a small yet effective vape from a reputable company and give it a try.
WHAT IS E-LIQUID AND VAPE JUICE
E-liquids, or vape juice as it's sometimes referred as, is the liquid that contains nicotine and is found in all e-cigarettes. E-Liquids are made up of four primary ingredients: Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), Flavourings and Nicotine.
Nicotine and flavouring are easy enough to understand, but VG and PG are important to the overall vaping experience.
Nicotine and flavouring are easy enough to understand, but VG and PG are important to the overall vaping experience.
Propylene Glycol (PG) is found in many food products like cake mixes and candies and has been widely used for decades. It is non-toxic and totally safe for human consumption. PG is what gives you the "throat hit" when you vape. The higher the Propylene Glycol content in your vape, the stronger and more realistic the throat hit.
Vegetable Glycerine (VG) is a vegetable based sweet liquid that is also found in many foods like ice cream and gum and is completely safe and non toxic. The role of Vegetable Glycerine in your vape juice is to create the vapour. So the higher the VG content, the more vapour or "cloud" is produced.
For a beginner looking to try vaping for the first time, using a higher PG e-liquid will create the most realistic smoke-like vapour. That is why the SMOKO E-Cigarette refills have a 80% PG / 20% VG ratio. And most people will also want a similar flavour to their normal cigarette - so we offer the best tobacco flavour, Virginia Rolling and Menthol flavoured e-liquids in our cigalike starter kits.
HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT NICOTINE STRENGTH
There is a lot of new information around to help with your decision to switch to vaping. When it comes to e-cigarettes, there are essentially two things that you need to decide on: what flavour of e-liquid you want and the level of nicotine you want to satisfy your cravings.
You may of heard the term 'Nic Salts'? If you have, then these are usually produced in the US and they allow you to get more of a nicotine hit at a much faster rate. This immense throat hit can really knock your socks off, so in SMOKO's opinion, the use of nic salts is nothing more than a way to ramp up the nicotine levels while limiting the natural 'throat hit' that you would experience in a freebase nicotine vape liquid.
When choosing which e-liquid for your e-cigarette make sure that, at first, you find one that has the same amount of nicotine as you are used to. Our cigalike and vape starter kits all come in 2.0% nicotine. Once you get used to your new vape, you can then choose to choose lower nicotine strengths down the track. This will help ease the transition from smoking to vaping and then to giving up completely.
When it comes to choosing your flavour, the majority of people want something that tastes the same as their current cigarette. That is why our tobacco, Virginia Rolling and Mint Breeze (menthol) are our most popular flavours.
So when you first start vaping, find a higher nicotine strength e-liquid in a similar flavour as your current brand of cigarettes for the best success in quitting.
DO I INHALE AN E-CIGARETTE THE SAME WAY AS A CIGARETTE?
Not quite! One of the mistakes people make when they begin their journey to cutting out traditional cigarettes is that they inhale like they would a normal cigarette. But, this isn't the case with a vape. The device needs slightly more time to produce your vapour, and many are inhale-activated - so you may need to draw on it a little longer than when smoking a cigarettes.
We advise holding your e-cigarette on a 45° angle, take a slightly longer and slower puff and hold it in for a couple of extra seconds. This should give you a full and satisfying smoke-like experience that will make you wonder why you didn't make the switch years ago!
OUR BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO E-CIGARETTES CONCLUSION
It is a proven fact that if you smoke cigarettes, you are increasing the risk of causing long term medical conditions like strokes, heart attacks, respiratory problems, and cancers. When you inhale tobacco smoke, you are breathing in over 4,000 poisonous chemicals and 50+ carcinogens.
E-Cigarettes are proving to be a lot less harmful while delivering an incredibly realistic smoking sensation while helping millions of people around the world to kick the habit!
Since we started over 9 years ago, SMOKO have prevented over 275,000,000 cigarettes from being consumed and our customers have saved over £100m of their hard-earned money from literally going up in smoke.
So, if you have decided to give up the habit of smoking and are looking for an e-cigarette to help you on your way, why not give one of our SMOKO starter kits a try?
*2023 Update - Now you can get an E-Cigarette starter kit FREE* when you buy a box of SMOKO E-Cigarette refills! (Cigalike, one per customer)
