Let's talk about Nicotine Milligram Level (mg), the lower the better?

[treehead]

(Just so you don't need to read my blabbing: I'm really just asking, how big of a difference the vape quality is between 12mg and 6mg? As well as just open a discussion about the relationship between nicotine mg content, and the qualities of the vape.)

Hey everybody! As someone that was strongly hooked on analogue cigarettes about a year ago now (pack and a half), I've never gone below 12mg of nicotine in my juice. I'm now sticking 100% to 12mg, and debating going down to 6! As everybody knows unless your vaping a solution of 48mg or something ridiculous, then vaping give you less of a buzz (which I now like), probably because your not smoking genetically altered tobacco plants, with freebase nicotine sprayed on further, and then if that weren't strong enough, the addition of ammonia to allow the nicotine concoction to seep into your lungs easier.

Long story short, I was taking in so much nicotine starting at 19 that I developed a serotonin imbalance, and actually created a depression when I began to tear free from the addiction companies. THANK GOD, vaping exists because I was able to titrate down slowly, and eventually (with the help of zoloft as well) I was freed of the terrible nicotine depression, and now I couldn't be happier . Which brings me to the topic of milligram level (sorry for the long life history ), for the past few months, I haven't even been craving nicotine, vaping is magical to me, because I can enjoy a slight relaxing buzz, but I never actually feel the need to vape.

Now vaping is more of a hobby, I enjoy coil building, the science behind it, trying to find the method that gets the most out of dripper, and I still love my tanks as well because of the convenience, and sometimes the flavor just can't be beat from my Squape, Russian 91%, or my flavor machine the Aspire Nautilus. So I've tried juices in everything basically for the past 11 months, and basically went from the highest milligram content down to the near lowest, and I've noticed that as I go down in mg's the vape becomes smoother, the flavor is cleaner, and even better I can use one fluid in my tanks, AS WELL as my drippers (if you've ever accidentally vaped a 24mg out of an RDA, you'd know it'll make your eyes water ).

Getting back to the topic, I'm curious to hear some wisdom on the relationship between nicotine level and the vape experience. I've certainly noticed a difference in reduced throat hit when lowering the nicotine level, but if anyone has other factors to mention that's more than welcome. I personally don't really like the most, throat hit I can get, in fact I prefer the smoother juices, and also like 100% VG simply because it feels smoother (because I'm partly a cloud chaser as well). I'd say the perfect juice to me has just enough throat hit to let you know it's there, in the morning 12mg in my dripper, will make my eyes water at first, but after a few puffs, I guess my windpipe get's "acclimated" you could say.

I'm about to buy a big (expensive) 1oz bottle of my favorite juice, and I'm hovering over the 6mg option as I type, because I don't want to get something too weak. However in the same hand, I definitely know I'd prefer the smoother juice, possibly better flavor (some companies add more ethyl alcohol, or other flavor ruining substances to properly mix nicotine into juice, and this is one of them), and maybe even the ability to blow bigger clouds, or chain vape more.

There have been times when I'm heavily vaping on 12mg (notably with fluids that have 30%+ PG for some reason), and I feel a slightly uncomfortable buzz. So I'm thinking 6mg will be for me. I don't see myself ever going down to 0mg, but you never know! Maybe even 3mg is around the corner, I'm just worried about getting a big bottle of juice that doesn't give me enough of an effect. ("Vaping it for nothing" is what I'm thinking, although I'm sure that's silly, as I can always blow clouds 2x more).

So what did you guys notice when halfing your nicotine mg's?
-smoother vape?
-smoother buzz? (or even too weak?)
-better/more pure flavor?
-lighter flavor? (I like lighter anyway, especially being a VG guy)
-cleaner coils?
-faster steeping?
-better quality of life? (possible mental/physical health advantages)
-actual vapor improvement? (density, ease of production, more)
-etc.

Thanks so much for your input in advance, I've always just stuck to the "high" side of vaping, and curious to hear lower users thoughts on the switch. I'm thinking I'll go ahead and buy the 6mg now, YOLO.

Vape'em if ya got'em!​

 

[jcalis1394]

Hey treehead!

I'm currently at 3mg and that has settled as my sweet spot. Granted I vape on a Kayfun at 20 watts, so if I were to vape that very same 3mg on, say, a clearomizer/carto tank, I'd definitely need a bump to 6mg.

What I've noticed the lower I go is a smoother vape (less throat hit), I don't really get a buzz, flavors are cleaner/purer. Vapor production remains the same, coil lifespan also remain the same as well as steeping times. I do find it interesting to read up on articles discussing the potential benefits of nicotine. Also congrats on getting rid of the addiction!

I'd say if you could, get a bottle of 0mg and a bottle of 12mg. It's a fail-proof plan as you can mix the two at an even ratio and achieve 6mg if you needed to.

Vape on!

 

[Ladiekali]

I think it depends. I usually vape 12.

Recently i ordered in different mg the same juices...

Ex. Aiv in 6 really yummy but light in taste.
At 11 more throat hit more flavor. But it tasted better at 6

Nicoticket cb Nd cls, ordered at 6 and couldnt put it down, ordered at 12 and it changed the taste, for the worse, bit richer, and more throat hit.

Mister e liquid hate the flavors at 6 love them at 12, better flavor more intense.

I think the top two nt and aiv are higher vg
Mel is higher pg...

Maybe that matters

 

[GPC2012]

I think the most important thing is vape what you need to be satisfied, Then work on lowering the nic level. We started at 12 did some 9 then went to 6 from there I started DIYing and discovered that at 6 or below I was vaping an incredible amount of juice each day. Raised it back up to 9 and am very happy. Flavor is good nice throat hit, and most important I know I won't be thinking about analogs. We'll lower our slower this time and hopefully reach 0 nic in time. But, if we don't then oh well. We are still better off than when we smoked.

 

[WharfRat1976]

I chain vape so I vape at 6mg....that's what I do...

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[Dcoin]

For me its not the nic level but the throat hit I crave. I'd gladly vape 0mg if it punched me in the throat the way 12 does.

 

[Lurch]

I started at 12mg and have pretty much stayed there. Recently I have started making some (DIY) at a lower dose, at 9mg.
This week I picked up some juice from a local B&M and got it at 6mg. I mix up my vapes during the day so in the morning I start at 12mg, then move to one that is 9mg. After dinner I like the juice from my local B&M at 6mg. I read that higher nicotine levels can lead to some sleep problems so I am trying to lower my dose at night.

I do not generally notice any increase/decrease in "buzz" and if I feel a little craving, I go get one of the 12mg juices.

Hope you find what works for you!

 

[Jdbaker82]

I chain vape so I vape at 6mg....that's what I do...

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this^ been doing it since day 1 of vaping in fact a B&M sold me 18mg when I first started and I haven't vaped it just collecting dust.

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[Yotdawglife]

You know, I was thinking about this too today. I started with 12mg in my Kanger Pro Tanks, now im exclusively dripping, I am thinking 6mg is a little too high for heavy dripping on a sub ohm build. I am suffering sometimes and choking on hits. I think this is the nicotine?

 

[Nick N]

Wife was on 24mg with stock Kanger coils in a Mini Protank 3, rebuilt with cotton (yarn) and she now gets a harsh hit with the same liquid. What would you suggest mg wise, as I am about to place an order today. I was thinking 12mg, but wondering if it should be 6mg.

Looking for a starting point, then adjusting.

 

[Boiler]

In the past 5-6 weeks I have cut my nic from 24mg to 5mg. I dropped quicker than maybe is advisable. At 5mg I feel a slight edginess/anxiety during the day but it's managable. I'll settle at 5mg for a while before going lower.

At 24mg I would take 2-3 puffs and be done for a while. At 5mg I take 8-10 puffs and am done for a while. Which is more like how I would smoke a cigarette.

5mg is definitely smoother, sometimes I have to blow a little out to make sure I am getting any vapor

 

[Robino1]

Wife was on 24mg with stock Kanger coils in a Mini Protank 3, rebuilt with cotton (yarn) and she now gets a harsh hit with the same liquid. What would you suggest mg wise, as I am about to place an order today. I was thinking 12mg, but wondering if it should be 6mg.

Looking for a starting point, then adjusting.

I would get maybe both. If worse comes to worse, you could mix the same flavors with the different nic mg's to come up with a happy medium.

It's too big of a jump going from 24 to 6(!)

The place I buy my liquids from allow me to order whatever I need in nic. If it is not in the drop down menu, I just pick one and say what I want in the notes/comments field. I am currently at 7mg nic.

I did start at 24mg and that quickly became too harsh. But it did get me off of cigs
I believe the body tells us when it is time to lower the nic.

 

[jadebunny]

I heard that lower nic levels may create a nic dependency to vape through out the day, is that true?

 

[Ryan H]

I work my way down 2mg at a time. Going from 12 to 6 you may get cravings. I spend 3+ months at one nic level before I even consider lowering. Nicotine gives me hiccups in high concentrations, so after my current strength starts doing that, I take it as my queue to lower it. I just went from 10 to 8 last week and there is no noticeable difference. I think once hovering in the ~6-5 area I will notice less throat hit though, as I taste test no-nic liquids all the time when mixing and always note the lack of TH. I'm worried that when going too low I won't "feel" it being inhaled.

 

[Boletus]

I'm pretty new to vaping, so bear that in mind with my perspective. Also, out of the 40+ years I had been smoking, at least the last 35 have been non-filtered cigs.

I started out at 18 mg and that did not really cut it for me. I was vaping so much it was difficult to do things that required two hands (I'm serious) and still had some cravings. So I bumped it up to 30 mg, the highest I could get from the vendor I was using at the time. That seemed to do the trick, as my cravings are gone, and I can put my PV away for an hour at a time when I need to without too much trouble.

But conversely to most comments here, I have actually considered increasing the nic a bit more and vaping less. I just did my first DIY juice and used 100 mg base and diluted it to 33.3 mg, because that was easy to do measurement-wise and to see what happened. Honestly, I don't notice much difference between 30 and 33, which is not surprising because relative to the 30, 33 is pretty close.

So for me, to answer your question, it will take some time to reduce the nic and still get what I need from vaping. Time will tell if I can make that work, but I am much less concerned about the nicotine than I am about inhaling burnt garbage from cigarettes.