Hi all, I just received an e-cig for my birthday from hubby but the instructions are a bit lacking! and I have no idea how to use this thing. I smoke 4mg strength cigs and the nicotine juice he bought me is 18mg so is that too strong for me? can I dilute it somehow?
Welcome! IMO, "milligrams" is not a very useful measure of nicotine strength. Juice labeled "18mg" is actually 18 milligrams
per milliliter, which is only about 1.8%, which is not much more than the average cigarette that contains 1.63% nicotine...but with cigarettes, most of the nicotine is destroyed by the burning process or lost to sidestream smoke and the user only absorbs about 1mg. Since e-cigarettes are not burned, however, 1g of e-liquid can replace 10 or more "analog" cigarettes.
I also feel a bit weird about using the e-cig because I don't know if I should just take a normal drag, or a short drag or what the hell to do, I have to hold down a button when I drag on it if that helps. Also how do you know when you've smoked a ciggy's worth of nicotine? It's all so confusing to me right now but I'd like to start using the e-cig and start cutting back on the cigarettes.
I'm worried I'm going to get too big a hit accidentally and end up with a head spin or feeling sick
The nicotine used in most e-cigs isn't really absorbed through deep lung tissue like cigarette smoke, it is mostly absorbed through the mouth and soft tissue in the upper respiratory system. This means you don't really get much nicotine by inhaling and the only "reason", really, to inhale is to create the throat hit sensation that many smokers crave. This means you will absorb the nicotine a little slower, so it is possible to make yourself dizzy when you first try vaping, but for the most part, once you've gotten the amount of nicotine you want...you'll stop vaping.
As far as how to drag? That's entirely up to you, but here's some tips: Unless you are using "high voltage" or "low resistance", you'll probably need to take a long slow drag (5+ seconds) to produce the most vapor and flavor. Although you CAN directly inhale it into your lungs, most people find they prefer to draw it into their mouth first and then inhale (if you want). If you want lots of flavor, practice "French inhaling" (Draw the vapor into your mouth, then let it out slowly while you inhale through your nose) or "French exhale" (exhale through the nose)
Where in Washington are you? There are a couple of e-cig stores that might be able to help you in person like The Vaporium in Lakewood, Smokers Choice in Silverdale, or the Volcano Vapor Cafe in Olympia.
