Best e-liquid (or pg/vg mix) for one who smokes marlboro reds but experiences throat irritation with ecigs

[deltron ZERO]

I'm a relative newbie to vaping. I smoke Marlboro reds at about a pack a day (except recently since i've been sick). first, a little bit of backstory to my vaping adventures. i'm sure most of you have heard it all before so if you'd like, skip to the last two paragraphs:

I started a year ago when i bought a 901 kit with both a manual and automatic battery. i got it from ecigsupply along with a 10ml bottle of the dry tobacco flavor at 24mg (not sure of the mix, but probably vg based). when i tried it out, it gave a nice throat hit, but made me cough every time due to my throat being irritated.

i thought it could just be the liquid and/or strength i got so i bought a bunch of 5ml bottles of 80/20 (PG/VG) at 18mg from vaporbomb. i got waffle and peach, with a free pecan roll bottle (super harsh, interesting taste). these worked slightly better and tasted pretty good but i still coughed, each time just wanting a real cigarette for the proper throat burn. then my 901 auto battery died this past summer and haven't had the willpower to buy new batteries. i have a PCC (that doesn't accept manuals with the rubber button on) but my manual battery has a missing button so it's a pain... i also bought blank cartomizers from vapor4life and they were nice enough to include samples of prefilled cartos but they were even worse on my throat. some weird flavors, but i can't complain about that part since they're free. peach cobbler was nice, though.

now i just bought a 510-T kit from goodprophets during the cyber monday sale for $30 and i'm sick again so my throat is extra sensitive though i can finally smoke a real cigarette again. 420 smoking is still a problem due to really bad coughing (i actually got my doctor's rec for asthma, believe it or not), though it's not as bad as when vaping. i can say the 510-T produces more vapor with less effort than the 901 but the same throat itchiness/irritation is still there.



i usually smoke cigarettes by inhaling lightly and then taking a small puff of air to push it into my lungs. this technique doesn't work for me with ecigs, at least with the liquids i've bought so far. i can smoke it like a cigar just for fun or for the taste...but it's not satisfying.

so anyways, on to my questions:
- should i change up the mix of pg/vg from 80/20 to prevent throat irritation0?
- should i go with a lower dose like 12mg of nicotine?
- how do i know if i'm allergic to vg or pg?
- are there any flavors that taste like lucky strike cigarettes?

thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.

 

[mooreted]

PG and nicotine can be irritating. You can try a higher VG level like 70/30 and you can try lowering your nicotine level.

VG has a tendency to burn and clog cartomizers, so you will have issues with juice that is too thick. This can be helped with diluting the liquid with alcohol or distilled water. Some vendors that sell VG liquid manage to make juice that is properly thin even though it's VG-based.

I had some issues with it at first, but I just kept vaping and even pure PG doesn't bother me anymore. They way I look at it: the first time I smoked I got sick and just about hacked up a lung, but I managed to get my stupid self hooked on them anyway. A little throat irritation and slight cough are nothing compared to starting smoking.

Alien Vision has, from what I've heard, some of the best juice you can find, and it's all VG-based. That might be something worth trying. Gorilla Juice is known to kill cartos, so be careful with that one.

 

[MaxUT]

i usually smoke cigarettes by inhaling lightly and then taking a small puff of air to push it into my lungs. this technique doesn't work for me with ecigs, at least with the liquids i've bought so far. i can smoke it like a cigar just for fun or for the taste...but it's not satisfying.

I've been vaping for 2-1/2 years but I still can't straight-inhale vapor without taking in mostly air at the same time (lips loose around the mouthpiece); otherwise I'd hack up a lung. My cig smoking style was to pull in a big mouthful of smoke, then open my mouth slightly and inhale. This is also how I generally vape, by mouth-inhaling.

so anyways, on to my questions:
- should i change up the mix of pg/vg from 80/20 to prevent throat irritation0?
- should i go with a lower dose like 12mg of nicotine?
- how do i know if i'm allergic to vg or pg?
- are there any flavors that taste like lucky strike cigarettes?

Hard to say if changing the PG/VG mix would help. All things being equal, high VG would give less throat HIT, so you would think it would cause less irritation. But- I believe many juice makers compensate for VG's flavor-killing effect by adding a little more flavoring to the mix when you order VG-heavy. If the flavoring is causing most of your irritation, then switching to a VG version might even make it worse.

I began vaping mostly VG liquids soon after buying my first 510 and within a week or so of heavy use developed the Sore Throat from Hell, like I was swallowing broken glass with acid sauce. I've since learned that VG is a humectant and is very good at absorbing water. A coating of VG in the throat will absorb moisture from the throat lining; it may dry it out enough so that it becomes inflamed. I believe that's what happened to me. Since then, I've often gone for weeks vaping 3-4 mL per day of mostly VG-based liquids and haven't had a recurrence of sore throat... guess my body adjusted to it.

Lowering the nic may cause you to vape more often because of less nic satisfaction, so if it's the liquid's base or flavoring that's causing irritation, using less nic could make the situation worse. Nic is the most important factor of throat hit so less nic = less throat hit satisfaction. Nausea, trembling, weakness, dizziness and cold sweat are signs of nicotine overdose. If you can chain vape and not experience any of those symptoms then I'd say your liquid's nic strength isn't too high.

how do i know if i'm allergic to vg or pg?
I'm going to pass on this one, since I haven't experienced any allergies in connection with vaping.

See this: The Vapor Room Toasted Tobacco TVR double shot
I haven't tried this juice, but it sounds worth a shot.

Some suggestions:

Drink lots of liquid while vaping, especially when indulging in a long vape session. Rinsing out your mouth and throat by drinking will help to reduce buildup of condensed e-liquid. Club Soda works well and helps to refresh taste buds.

Check out WTA (Whole Tobacco Alkaloids) as a way to get better throat hit and better satisfaction even while reducing your vaping frequency. See: WTA is the future

Hope this helps.

 

[swedishfish]

My sister had the same coughing problem. I got her a very light flavored, low nicotine juice to practice with. It's difficult to explain to another person how to vape, but it's not really necessary to pull the vapor deeply into your lungs because it's not really absorbed there- unlike cigarettes. Hold the vapor in you mouth a bit, then inhale a small amount.

I think all juice dries out your throat so drink lots of water. Maybe juice with a little higher VG will be better for you. Not too high in VG or you probably won't be able to use it with tanks.

She's now able to vape and vapes VS Tampa- she was a Marlboro smoker.

 

[MaxUT]

And VS Tampa has a better throat hit than most liquids, IMO.

 

[samwest]

I vape VG heavy juices exclusively, I also use 510 atty's. It does not bother my throat or clog my atty's. I run about 5 mils a day at 5volts. I use AVE Boba's, Rafalicious, gorilla juice, and blend 4. I also am a slave the IKV RY4 Gold (VG) and have not killed an atty in 3 month's! I don't even bother to clean em'. I think using a little higher voltage helps keep atty's cleaner.
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, try alien visions blend 4 or flue cured tobacco, good stuff.