OK, here’s my spin on the original topic, plus what it has evolved into. All data is based on my own tests (e-cigs vs. analogs) and a study performed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on analog cigs. Article here:
Nicotine Up Sharply In Many Cigarettes - washingtonpost.com
I use 901 e-cig3. I put in 3 drops (onto atty) approximately every half an hour – 10 to 20 puffs – about the same as one analog. I smoked about 30 analogs per day before e-cigs.
I use 36mg/ml juice, cut 2/3 juice to 1/3 VG, so I wind up with approximately 24mg/ml juice. At 21 drops per ml, I am getting 7 uses (3 ½ hours) out of 1mg of my juice. In a 16 hour vaping day, I use about 4.5mg of juice. This comes out to around 110mg of nicotine per day (vaping).
The study referred to in the link above found that “on average” one cigarette delivers almost 2mg of nicotine per cigarette. Camel unfiltered and Newport 100’s delivered about 3mg of nicotine per cigarette. I smoked generic full flavored 100’s, so I am using 2mg/cig as my intake.
Therefore, 30 cigs times 2mg each equals 60mg of nicotine per day. Vaping (from figures above) shows that I am getting 110mg per day. Almost twice what I got from analogs.
In real terms, I don’t use 4.5mg per day, though. There are several times a day that my “1/2 hour pattern” is broken, so my usage is actually less. My wife and I both vape, and we go through a 15ml bottle every 3 days – about 5mg/day between the two of us. I vape about 25% more than she does, so I actually go through about 2.75mg-3.0mg per day. As such, I am getting around 67mg of nicotine per day – about what I got from analogs.
Now, 24mg/ml juice is the high strength, so (after my cut) I will be using 16mg/ml juice in the future. That will reduce my intake of nicotine to just over 40mg/day (assuming that I don’t increase my usage). We’ll see.
In addition to the “off times” explained above, I also find that the length of each vaping session has decreased. Oftentimes, I just take 3 or 4 puffs and then set my 901 down. At this point, it seems that I have unconsciously self-regulated my nicotine intake to the same as I had with analogs. It stands to be seen whether my vaping will increase as my juice strength is being reduced.
Just my experiences on the subject. As to the original topic, based on the above data (figuring an average of 15 puffs per 3 drops), I figure that I get about 100 puffs per ml of juice. 75 good hits, and 25 acceptable (but less vapor) hits.