How many cigarettes am I actually smoking?!?

[proverbs]

So I went to my local vape shop and asked a bunch of questions. To my surprise, they could not answer one of my questions that I thought was very basic. How many cigarettes am I actually smoking when I vape?

Before I started vaping, I cut down my smoking to about half a pack a day (outside of weekends, when I'm drinking heavily). Now, I vape throughout the whole day, and I don't really know how many cigarettes it's actually equivalent to. I could be smoking a pack a day now (in terms of nicotine intake)! I have e-liquids in 6mg and 12mg in several flavors. The bottles that I have range from 10ml to 50ml. Is there a certain formula to know how many cigarettes I'm smoking per ml?

The e-liquids are so dang delicious that I can really go overboard with this stuff

 

[elmattias]

you're not smoking any cigarettes when you vape.

you're not getting ANY of the extremely harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. your nicotine intake has gone up slightly. but as far as equating it to cigarettes, your question can't be any further from fact.

 

[alisa1970]

Well technically, you're not smoking any cigarettes.

To be helpful (or try), there's no real good answer to that one...there hasn't been any real study to determine how much vaping equals how much smoking. There are just too many viariables.

You'll know when you've gone overboard--you'll get nic sick (nausea, dizziness, headaches).

 

[Crash Moses]

In addition, vaping nicotine isn't the same as smoking a cigarette. The chemicals in the cigarette react with the nicotine to create a completely different experience. You may still experience some withdrawal symptoms related to the tobacco alkaloids found in cigarettes but not in e-juice.

You may want to try juice with different nicotine levels to see what works best for you (if you get headaches, nausea, etc. you had too much).

If you vape all day the 6ml should do you fine. If you're only vaping every 20 minutes or so you may want to use the 12mg. This is based on my experience only...YMMV.

 

[RosaJ]

So I went to my local vape shop and asked a bunch of questions. To my surprise, they could not answer one of my questions that I thought was very basic. How many cigarettes am I actually smoking when I vape?

Before I started vaping, I cut down my smoking to about half a pack a day (outside of weekends, when I'm drinking heavily). Now, I vape throughout the whole day, and I don't really know how many cigarettes it's actually equivalent to. I could be smoking a pack a day now (in terms of nicotine intake)! I have e-liquids in 6mg and 12mg in several flavors. The bottles that I have range from 10ml to 50ml. Is there a certain formula to know how many cigarettes I'm smoking per ml?

The e-liquids are so dang delicious that I can really go overboard with this stuff

You're smoking 0 cigarettes and it's ok to enjoy the flavors.

 

[zapped]

0 cigarettes.

I should add that the guilt youre experiencing is a leftover from when you were smoking analogs and is no longer needed.Seriously....you made a great decision so lighten up on yourself and enjoy.

I go through 12ml of liquid a day on average and the only reason I know that is because my tanks hold 6ml, not like Im counting or anything any more.

 

[proverbs]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Well, I know cigarettes and vaping aren't the same, but I know that nicotine is an addictive chemical. I just wanted to compare strictly on a nicotine level. Is there some type of estimate for this? If I'm a half a pack a day smoker (Marlboro Lights), would the nicotine intake from the cigarettes be equivalent to 2ml of a 12mg e-liquid? 5ml?

I understand that cigarettes have a billion other harmful chemicals, but I just wanted to get some idea of how much nicotine I'm putting in my body.

 

[iceman68]

A definitive answer is elusive. Factors involved include molecular composition, absorption rates, smoke vs vapor densities, and many other things I know nothing about. Further studies are needed.

But, as already stated, you aren't smoking. Nothing is burning and you aren't taking in any of the 4000+ other chemicals in cigarettes.

If you're concerned about nicotine intake, stick with the low mg stuff and maybe eventually 0 mg. Just enjoy the flavors.

 

[ennagizer]

I tried to figure out that answer also, but there are too many variables.

Personally, I don't know how much nicotine I'm consuming vs. when I was smoking. I just listen to my brain. When it says "give me some of that juice", I do. Then, when I feel content, I stop, usually after 3-6 vapes depending on the juice, mg and how long its been since my last vape.

 

[alisa1970]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Well, I know cigarettes and vaping aren't the same, but I know that nicotine is an addictive chemical. I just wanted to compare strictly on a nicotine level. Is there some type of estimate for this? If I'm a half a pack a day smoker (Marlboro Lights), would the nicotine intake from the cigarettes be equivalent to 2ml of a 12mg e-liquid? 5ml?

I understand that cigarettes have a billion other harmful chemicals, but I just wanted to get some idea of how much nicotine I'm putting in my body.

OK, Marlboro Lights, un-smoked, contain approx .8 mils of nicotine per cigarette. You can see it on this chart:

Nicotine, Tar, and CO Content of Regular Cigarette Brands

But how much is actually absorbed when you smoke one depends on how you smoke (quick, short draws, or long, deep ones, how long you hold the inhale, etc).

So by comparison, you could estimate that in a 10ml bottle you would choose approx 5 mils and be about close, apples to apples.

But the thing is that the vapor molecules are bigger and don't get absorbed in your lungs, so depending on how you vape you will be getting much less. Even when you hold the vapor in your mouth and exhale through your nose (the places where the nicotine is absorbed), it takes much longer to get into your bloodstream, AND it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier like the chemicals in cigarettes do.

Again, you WILL know when you've had too much. With the nic levels in your juice right now, I would say that you'd need to chain-vape quite a bit to get to that point.

The nicotine may or may not be addictive (there are new studies questioning conventional wisdom), but it's not what is or will cause you the health problems, so while it's nice to be curious or want to know the equivalent, it really is fairly meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

 

[proverbs]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Although there wasn't a direct answer, the responses did help me understand everything a lot more.

I guess I'll put this question aside and just enjoy the vaping

 

[alisa1970]

Vape on!

 

[SASmith]

I wondered about that, but soon found out there isn't really an answer, please remember to drink plenty of water as vaping is dehydrating, enjoy your Vape!

 

[BostLabs]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Although there wasn't a direct answer, the responses did help me understand everything a lot more.

I guess I'll put this question aside and just enjoy the vaping

There ya go!

No smoke, just flavor and some nic to keep the demon away. Lower it as you go along. That's what I plan to do.

Welcome to ECF.

 

[zapped]

If you do lower your nicotine, dont be in a rush either. I made that mistake the second time I started vaping and was back on analogs 6 months after getting to 0mg nicotine. I went from 36mg to 0mg in 6months time. Was just too fast for me.

Im taking it slower this time, dropping 6mg every 4-5 months.

 

[VapinWolf]

It might also help to understand you really don't know how many 'cigs' you smoked even when you were smoking. There are just too many variables. That .8nic is for the entire cig. Just from casual observation during my 28 year habit most people only smoke aggressivly during 'smoke breaks'. Smoking in a casual situation I have noticed only about half a cig is actually smoked. It is not rare to watch someone 'flick' ashes two or three times in between drags. They might have 'smoked' a cig, but in reality they only smoked 1/3 to 1/2.

As everyone has already said, focus on the positives. I have been chain vaping 24mg now for almost two months (we wont talk about the 1.5 week chain smoking marathon which reset my sig banner) Tonight I made my first batch og 20mg. We will see how it goes.

Doesn't really matter to me though, my formaldehyde intake has dropped to 0%, arsenic and many other pesticides as well. We all know how long this list can go.

Focus on the positives

 

[FreakSkinny]

I started 2 years ago at 24ml ... and still vape 24ml. Nicotine was never the issue for Me. I'm just happy cutting out all the Disgusting additives, and carcinogenic crap they added in Cigs !! Vapor 4 Life!

 

[Plumes.91]

Step 1:Vape 18mg e-juice
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Good job!

 

[cydjen]

does vaping do us any harm?

 

[Rat2chat2]

You've come to the right place to ask a question. Always get good stuff here.