All e-cigarettes and vapes use E-Liquids or vape juice to give them the realistic smoking sensation that mimics a cigarette. Essentially an E-Liquid is a nicotine-containing liquid that easily vapourizes to form a smoke-like vapour which you inhale.

To achieve this feat of magic, e-liquids contain 4 main ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerine, Flavourings and Nicotine.

Propylene Glycol (PG) is a colourless liquid with a slightly sweet taste that has many uses and is completely safe to humans. PG is a synthetic additive that comes from the same chemical group as alcohol and is slightly thicker than water. But due to its numerous properties, it has a wide range of uses.

Propylene Glycol is used in a number of various industries but is widely used in the food industry.  You will find PG in salad dressing, cake mixes, breads and pastries, candies and gums and more.  

Without getting to scientific, PG’s many properties include:

Antioxidant - protects food from oxidising and helps to extend shelf life of your favourite foods 

Great Carrier of Flavour - it dissolved and binds flavours and nutrients better than water, so is widely used

Preserves Moisture - it maintains a constant level of moisture and stops foods from drying out and can be found in marshmallows, nuts and coconut flakes

Emulsifier - it keeps other ingredients from separating - like vinegar and oil in salad dressings

Stabilizer and Thickener - helps to hold other ingredients together, like in breads and cakes

Adds Texture - because of some of these other properties, it can help to change the “mouthfeel” of many of our favourite foods

So from keeping your favourite snacks lasting longer and tasting better, PG is a bit of a miracle ingredient.

Because of its properties, Propylene Glycol is also one of the most important ingredients in vape juices and e-liquids.  It essentially holds the flavour and nicotine together allowing e-liquids and vapes to work properly.  Without PG, there would be no e-cigarettes!

Vegetable Glycerine is the other major ingredient that is commonly found in your e-liquid or vape juice.  VG is a clear and odourless liquid that is derived from plants like soybean, palm or coconut oils and is widely used in everyday life.  It has been used for the last 200 years and helps to add a sweetness and maintain moisture in many food products.

For a bit of science, Vegetable Glycerine is made by heating vegetable oils under pressure.  This causes the glycerine to separate from the fatty acids and mixes with water to create a syrupy, slightly sweet liquid.  That is why having a vg base in your vape juice is important.

Due to its qualities, VG is used in an incredible amount of the food and products we use in our day to day lives.  From some of our favourite foods, our most important medicines and prescriptions and in many of our skin care products, Vegetable Glycerine is a bit of a wonderkid!  

Do you like your ice cream to be super cream and rich?  Then you have Vegetable Glycerine to thank for that as it stops ice crystals forming in many frozen foods like ice cream and frozen yogurts.  It can be found in many heart medications, cough syrups and anesthetics.  Due to its ability to help water-based ingredients and oils to mix, you will find Vegetable Glycerine in many of your skin and beauty creams.

But most relevant to e-cigarettes, Vegetable Glycerine is the 2nd most important part of your e-liquids.

Vegetable Glycerine plays an important part in your daily vaping experience.  Not only does it work with the Propylene Glycol to bind the flavours and nicotine together, it also helps to create the smoke-like vapour that an e-cigarette produces.  So VG is what makes the “clouds” when you vape.

The higher the VG concentration in your vape juice will result in more vapour production.  So a higher VG e-liquid with a lower nicotine percentage is usually preferred by vapers using larger, open vape systems to produce the big clouds that you see.   But VG doesn’t hold the flavour of the vape juice compared to the Propylene Glycol.  This means that many people using larger vape mods tend to turn up the power output on their devices to a higher level in order to get the same flavour experience.

All e-liquids and vape juice come in a wide range of PG/VG mixes, infinite flavour combinations and varying nicotine strengths.  The PG/VG mix will dictate the type of vaping experience you have and will be dependent on the type of e-cigarette or vape device you are using.

The VG/PG ratio on most e-liquids will be displayed on the packaging and on the bottle your vape juice comes in.  It will be displayed as a ratio like 80% PG / 20% VG, 50% PG / 50% VG or 30% PG / 70% VG.  It could also be displayed as 80/20, 50/50 or 30/70.  The PG/VG ratio will always total either 100% or 100.

The question as to which VG/PG ratio you should use will depend on a number of factors.  Some of these include the type of e-cigarette or vape mod you are using, how strong a “throat hit” you are after, how realistic you want your vaping experience to be, how much flavour you would like and how much “cloud” or vapour you want.  The VG/PG you will want to use will be quite a personal choice depending on what you want.

Most closed system e-cigarettes like cigalikes and pods that are Mouth To Lung (MTL) devices are designed to deliver a more realistic smoking sensation.  They tend to use pre-filled refills or pods with a 80% PG / 20% VG mix which give a vaper a richer flavour experience with a stronger “throat hit”.  This is why e-cigarettes and cigalikes are the most popular with smokers looking to quit smoking cigarettes and move to vaping for the first time.  

A more experienced vaper using a larger open system that is a Direct To Lung (DTL) device will generally look for a higher VG concentration in the vape juice.  Due to the higher power output and the great clouds DTL vape mods produce, a 30% PG / 70% VG would be more appropriate.  The downside is less of a throat hit and a less intensity of flavour.

So depending on your device and what kind of vaping experience you are after, the choice of your PG/VG mix should now be pretty clear.  The high PG e liquids deliver a more realistic smoking sensation whereas if you are looking for more cloud production, a high VG e juice will give you more clouds of vapor.

As we just mentioned, the VG/PG ratio is important for a great vaping experience but it is vital to ensure your vape kit is working as it has been designed to.  Using a higher VG concentration in a cigalike or closed pod system will not give you a strong throat hit that might not satisfy your cravings.  Conversely, using a higher PG vape juice mix in a more powerful DTL vape mod will most likely give you a throat hit that is way too strong.  

So following the simple guidelines should help you get the most out of your vaping experience and help you to be successful in quitting smoking.

Use a higher PG mix in smaller cigalike, e-cigarette or closed pod systems for a more intense flavour and a realistic smoking sensation.

Use a higher VG mix in larger vape mods and DTL devices to create more clouds.