I tried to post this is the new vapers section, but I guess since I'm not "new" anymore, I can't start a post there.
I've read in threads over and over again, especially in the newcomers, that sometimes or perhaps even all of the time, excess harshness is an issue. A new vapor might claim that when smoking a regular cigarette that they do not get this "harshness". However, picking up a vape creates an uncomfortable experience. Over the last couple of years of vaping, struggling with changing up between smoking and vaping, and trying to stay off cigarettes, I've found a few bits of solid information that cause this "harshness", at least for me. At first I thought that it was the juices that I was trying, and in some cases it may be. People tend to focus on juice strengths and bases (PG vs. VG) rather than a couple of more simple things to consider. Some people even just try saying that you just have to "get used to it" or "that's just the way vaping is". Well, I'm here to tell you that's not the case. The vaping experience should be no more "harsh" or uncomfortable than smoking a regular cigarette. This is not comprehensive, but rather from my experience. Most experienced vapers will know these things, but newcomers may not.
1.) Dry hits - I don't know why or understand the science behind it, but when you take a rather long drag off of your vaping equipment of choice and very little vapor is produced, it's bad. It can be really bad. If you remember ever having a little cigarette smoke go down the wrong way and recall how you coughed…imagine that times like 20. This is always caused by malfunctioning equipment. It may not be the equipment's fault, but there is a malfunction somewhere. Bad connection, bad coil, gunked up coil, bad juice mix, not using the equipment properly, dirty battery, etc. Look for these things first.
2.) Gunked up coils - This is the number one cause of lung irritation for me. As I mentioned, I've been struggling between vaping and smoking for a long while. Sometimes when I go on a vaping strike, my coil sits around and the coated juice on the coil hardens. Then when you go to use it, all of that hardened, carbonized, concentrated material burns off the coil and goes into your lungs. I'm not sure what this "gunk" is comprised of, but it's going to depend on the juices you are using. I suspect some type of sugar base to the culprit. I even have this happen on occasion when vaping regularly. Sometimes you can just vape it for a while and it will go away, but more often than not it just needs to be burned off.
If you are a tank user, use your coils properly and clean them often. I find that dry burning is the most effective cleaning procedure for me. Don't be a cheap a like me and try to use them until they are falling apart and leaking everywhere. Cartomizers can be cleaned also, but should likely just be chucked after a few refills. (I've gotten more dry hits off of cartomizers than anything else, and there isn't always a good explanation.)
3.) Juice sensitivity - This is one that held me back for a while until I discovered what the deal was. It's not just certain juices that do it to me, but all of them. I cannot vape juices straight. My personal opinion is that the trend in juices right now is to make the flavors as strong as possible without gagging someone to death. I mix my juices 50/50 with unflavored juices. Unflavored juices can be purchased just like flavored juices and have the same available nic content and VG/PG base. And vaped alone, they aren't bad, at least to me. There's something in the flavorings that irritates me. I like to have some flavoring though, so I tried mixing 50/50 one time and never went back.
These are just some things to look at if you are struggling with the switch to vaping because of "harshness". I'm sure that there are many others, but I believe these to be the biggest culprits. PG/VG is one possibility, since some people tend to have sensitivities to one or the other. But I think all too often, the flavorings that we are using and the equipment we are using is overlooked. People jump to the juice type or nicotine strength as the problem and I just don't think that's the case as often as I see it.
I've read in threads over and over again, especially in the newcomers, that sometimes or perhaps even all of the time, excess harshness is an issue. A new vapor might claim that when smoking a regular cigarette that they do not get this "harshness". However, picking up a vape creates an uncomfortable experience. Over the last couple of years of vaping, struggling with changing up between smoking and vaping, and trying to stay off cigarettes, I've found a few bits of solid information that cause this "harshness", at least for me. At first I thought that it was the juices that I was trying, and in some cases it may be. People tend to focus on juice strengths and bases (PG vs. VG) rather than a couple of more simple things to consider. Some people even just try saying that you just have to "get used to it" or "that's just the way vaping is". Well, I'm here to tell you that's not the case. The vaping experience should be no more "harsh" or uncomfortable than smoking a regular cigarette. This is not comprehensive, but rather from my experience. Most experienced vapers will know these things, but newcomers may not.
1.) Dry hits - I don't know why or understand the science behind it, but when you take a rather long drag off of your vaping equipment of choice and very little vapor is produced, it's bad. It can be really bad. If you remember ever having a little cigarette smoke go down the wrong way and recall how you coughed…imagine that times like 20. This is always caused by malfunctioning equipment. It may not be the equipment's fault, but there is a malfunction somewhere. Bad connection, bad coil, gunked up coil, bad juice mix, not using the equipment properly, dirty battery, etc. Look for these things first.
2.) Gunked up coils - This is the number one cause of lung irritation for me. As I mentioned, I've been struggling between vaping and smoking for a long while. Sometimes when I go on a vaping strike, my coil sits around and the coated juice on the coil hardens. Then when you go to use it, all of that hardened, carbonized, concentrated material burns off the coil and goes into your lungs. I'm not sure what this "gunk" is comprised of, but it's going to depend on the juices you are using. I suspect some type of sugar base to the culprit. I even have this happen on occasion when vaping regularly. Sometimes you can just vape it for a while and it will go away, but more often than not it just needs to be burned off.
If you are a tank user, use your coils properly and clean them often. I find that dry burning is the most effective cleaning procedure for me. Don't be a cheap a like me and try to use them until they are falling apart and leaking everywhere. Cartomizers can be cleaned also, but should likely just be chucked after a few refills. (I've gotten more dry hits off of cartomizers than anything else, and there isn't always a good explanation.)
3.) Juice sensitivity - This is one that held me back for a while until I discovered what the deal was. It's not just certain juices that do it to me, but all of them. I cannot vape juices straight. My personal opinion is that the trend in juices right now is to make the flavors as strong as possible without gagging someone to death. I mix my juices 50/50 with unflavored juices. Unflavored juices can be purchased just like flavored juices and have the same available nic content and VG/PG base. And vaped alone, they aren't bad, at least to me. There's something in the flavorings that irritates me. I like to have some flavoring though, so I tried mixing 50/50 one time and never went back.
These are just some things to look at if you are struggling with the switch to vaping because of "harshness". I'm sure that there are many others, but I believe these to be the biggest culprits. PG/VG is one possibility, since some people tend to have sensitivities to one or the other. But I think all too often, the flavorings that we are using and the equipment we are using is overlooked. People jump to the juice type or nicotine strength as the problem and I just don't think that's the case as often as I see it.
