Actually for the record...nicotine is
not banned in Canada. Ditto for batts, cartos, attys, etc etc. E-juice w/nic, e-cig hardware & all of that...is perfectly
legal. The problem is that for ages, Health Canada has been ignoring the law, contradicting the law, pretending things are in the law when they aren't...et cetera.
At the same time, vendors are
required to be compliant with Canadian law...which leads to the other side of the problem, i.e. for a long time vendors
haven't been compliant with anything. This is due in no small part to the fact that no one has had a clear understanding of what the legal requirements for compliance
are.
That's changing now. Providing the relevant, comprehensive legal research etc in an easy-to-understand format, thereby putting an end to confusion over compliance with Canadian law...is one of the benefits that membership in
ECTA (the Electronic Cigarette Trade Association (ECTA) of Canada) offers to Canadian vendors. Membership in ECTA isn't
required in order to be compliant with the law of course...but it sure does make it easier to understand what's needed, and a lot more affordable too. Which is great!
So yeah...I understand your confusion over the legal situation James. Believe me, you're not alone in that. But things
are going to get a lot better & clearer in the months & years to come. At the end of the day,
all vendors are
obligated to get compliant: their only choice is
how are they gonna go about it. An increasing number of them
are doing what's needed, in a way that will eventually end the nonsense from HC...and secure our long-term access to vape products in Canada which are verifiably accurate, safe, and legally compliant. Yay!
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Now you say you want to make the switch to vaping yourself. Right on!
Congrats on making one of the
best choices you'll ever make. There's a world of vapey options for you to consider...from the kind of e-cig you want
(shape, battery life, colour etc)...to the flavours & nic-strength of e-juice you'd like. And more.
When I was new, I began with the
Joye 510. It's a very common cig-shaped starter model; easy to use. The 510
(180 mAh) has about 2 hours of battery life...but only takes about 1 hour to recharge. Best to have two of these, so that you can use one while the other recharges. Here's a photo of my first one from way back, with a Boge cartomizer:
If a cig-shaped device is not as important to you as good battery life...then I would suggest getting an
eGo instead. They're just as easy to use as the 510...but the eGo is a bit fatter & stubbier. It's still pretty light & small though. An eGo
(650 mAh) will last for around 6 hours...with 2 hours or less to recharge. A Mega eGo
(900 to 1100 mAh, depending on the model) will be a bit heavier, & physically longer than a standard eGo...but will probably last you all day!
510's and eGos are by far the most common starter models. They do what they're supposed to & they're quite affordable. You can get a Joye 510 battery by itself for $20 or less; an eGo for a few bucks more. I'd advise against a "starter kit" because all you really need are:
1) a battery or two + the charger
2) a box or two of cartomizers
(or a few atomizers, if you prefer those)
3) and some juices
With a starter kit though you're basically shelling out for fancier packaging, and some doodads that you don't really want or need.
Another model option would be the
Bloog. Bloogs are cig-shaped starter models with a little more power than a Joye 510; the main difference though is they have a different threading. A lot of models, from simple to advanced...use the 510's threading. This means that you can use a 510 atomizer or cartomizer on all kinds of devices. A Boge 510 cartomizer, for example: I've used these on every e-cig I've ever owned.
The Bloog has an 808 threading instead, which is fine...it's just not as widespread as the 510 threading is. Bear in mind that you can also buy these little adapter thingies, for only a few bucks. So for example a 510-to-808 adapter: when screwed onto your 510-threaded battery, it would let you connect an 808-threaded carto. You see? Mind you it can be kind of annoying to carry around adapters with you, unless you really need em. Most vapers prefer to just use an e-cig that's already compatible with their atty or carto etc.
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Anyway, there are a
lot of vendors in Canada, with a lot of different choices. I would encourage you to shop around, really take your time to see what's available...
...and take advantage of the forum here too. It can really help you to get educated & avoid some pricey mistakes
(like that overpriced awful Smokestik you were looking at, lol). Btw, if you're not sure what nic level would be a good one to start with...I personally advise that you start with a couple of bottles of juice at
18mg. If you want more nic than that
(or less than that) down the line...no problem. But it's a good starting place, 18mg.
I would also advise a juice that has
PG and VG in it. An all-PG juice will be lacking in visible vapour production, especially if you inhale. Conversely, an all-VG juice will be really thick. It'll produce tons of vapour...but muted throat-hit. VG is not as good as PG when it comes to carrying flavour, either. Most vapers use juices that have both, to strike a good balance between vapour production, throat hit, flavour & ease of use. Figuring out the ratio that
you prefer is...part of the journey, hun.
Like I said, there's a whole bunch of vendors you can find in Canada. Most of whom are pretty great. You can Google some of them - you can request a supplier's list via PM - and you can check out ECTA's member-vendors too, via the link I gave earlier.
Above all, don't be shy to ask questions here. Opinions will frequently vary
(especially over juice preferences). But don't let that stop you. All we can do is be friendly, share our experiences, help you become aware of options...and offer subjective opinions, lol.
(Case in point: I can't stand atomizers, but I love Boge cartomizers. Yet some feel the complete opposite of what I feel about those. You see?)
Anyway, enough rambling. All the best & hope you'll be happily vaping soon James!
