Newbie Here - Not Sure if I Should Be Doing This

[AJ1098]

Hello everyone - hope all is well.

For roughly 8 years, I smoked 1/2 to 1 pack per day of cigarettes. I managed to kick the habit about 6 years ago, but lately I have been having increasing desires to smoke.

I decided to be on the safe side in order to prevent a full re-lapse to cigarettes and picked up a vape starter pack. I got the eleaf iCare Solo with a Mr. Salt-E Tobacco flavor 25 mg juice. The vape pen works great, but after about a week now, I can feel a difference in my lungs - its like they feel "heavy" and my lung capacity is slightly decreased.

Did any of you have this problem when you first started vaping? Is it simply because I have made it so far without cigarettes that even vaping will have noticeable side-effects such as it would in a never-smoker?

Also - does the eleaf iCare Solo vape high enough to cause concerns with formaldehyde?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

25mg/ml nic is extremely high nic for someone that gave up smoking 6 years ago.
3 mg/ml to 6 mg/ml nic at most to keep cravings suppressed maybe.

Nicotine salts are said to have a quicker & more potent effect, probably not a good idea for someone brand new / long ago former smoker.

mr salt e normal pg/vg ratio is 40pg / 60 vg, some folks have a sensitivity to high VG that has various side effects like wheezing, tight or heavy chest up to difficulty breathing / hard to take a breath.

Being tobacco free for 6 years I'd recommend 0 mg/ml nic, if that doesn't work try 3mg/ml.
If you're experiencing reduced lung function best to get checked out by a doctor, breathing is kinda important.

 

[Baditude]

I agree with Topwater Elvis. 25mg is way too high. 3 - 6 mg seems like a better choice for you.

If you have further questions, ask away. Or you could click the link below for a variety of topics on vaping.

 

[AJ1098]

25mg/ml nic is extremely high nic for someone that gave up smoking 6 years ago.
3 mg/ml to 6 mg/ml nic at most to keep cravings suppressed maybe.

Nicotine salts are said to have a quicker & more potent effect, probably not a good idea for someone brand new / long ago former smoker.

mr salt e normal pg/vg ratio is 40pg / 60 vg, some folks have a sensitivity to high VG that has various side effects like wheezing, tight or heavy chest up to difficulty breathing / hard to take a breath.

Hmm - thanks for the info. I thought I needed higher since the vape I bought was kind of a low-end one. I might need to look into possibly switching juice then. Any good recommendations?

One thing to note - I am looking for that nicotine "buzz" and "throat hit" we all knew and loved when we smoked cigarettes. Is a 6mg or 3mg juice going to produce those? I remember reading that you need a higher nicotine content for both of those.

 

[AJ1098]

I agree with Topwater Elvis. 25mg is way too high. 3 - 6 mg seems like a better choice for you.

If you have further questions, ask away. Or you could click the link below for a variety of topics on vaping.

I'll take a look through those. Thank you!

 

[Topwater Elvis]

I'm not the right person to ask, I never recall getting any kind of buzz from smoking cigarettes & never experienced any kind of buzz using e liquids even when I started vaping and used the mid/high 30's mg/ml nic.

High PG liquids tend to have more throat hit, some flavors give more th, there are additives for DIY that increase th.

 

[AJ1098]

I'm not the right person to ask, I never recall getting any kind of buzz from smoking cigarettes & never experienced any kind of buzz using e liquids even when I started vaping and used the mid/high 30's mg/ml nic.

Gotcha. For me, smoking cigarettes was the "feel good" effect most people got - especially in the morning, after meals and after 1+ hours of not having a cigarette.

Best way to describe it is you feel relaxed and a bit light headed, but overall happy. The current vape setup I was using was doing just that and completely curbing any desire to relapse to smoking, but with me feeling what I do in my chest, i'm definitely reconsidering vaping in general unless I can find something much less "harsh" with the same benefits.

The local Vape store just tells me that in order to get the throat hit and nic buzz, you need higher nicotine. Not much help...

Thanks for the information though! Ill look into some higher PG stuff and see what I come up with.

 

[stols001]

Well, nic salts are more quickly bioavailable so they're slightly more likely to produce a "buzz" but really, you aren't going to get the same feeling from vaping than from cigarettes. For one, part of the nic buzz involves lack of oxygen to the brain due to carbon monoxide being inhaled, and there are also about a zillion more psychoactive compounds in cigarettes (both the alkaloids and the tar) that you aren't going to get vaping (you could try some Whole Tobacco Alkaloid juice if you wanted a closer "cigarette" mimic effect, but those juices tend to be on the pricier side... although I did find them very helpful as I was transitioning.

Your body is no longer used to high levels of nicotine, and a lower level should be enough to satisfy you, at this point. Maybe get a higher quality starter MTL vape set up that has refillable juices and replacable coils? Lots of good stuff out there of higher quality than a cigarette produced cig-a-like, and a more satisfying vape.

Nicotine alone may or may not remove your desire to resume smoking.... I find the hardest cigs to avoid are my "stress" cigarettes.

Higher PG content than VG should give you a bit of a throat hit, but nic salts actually LACK a throat hit, which is why they can be used at such high percentages in cigalike products. So you won't get a throat hit from nic salts, but rather regular free base nicotine.

As far as how you feel... I don't really know what to tell you other than a) sometimes people are allergic to one or more ingredients in e-cigs, whether it be certain flavors, PG (I am sensitive to that and can't use much at all)) or VG or you may simply be feeling uncomfortable due to hitting your respiratory system with a relatively high dose of nicotine liquid, although I certainly am not a doctor and cannot say for certain. You might want to see your doc and discuss it.

These are all complicated issues and I'm sorry they can't be resolved with a single "yes" or "no." You can certainly lower your nic content, buy a better device that lets you test out various flavored liquids, PG/VG ratios, nicotine levels and etc., but it's going to probably take some time, effort and learning on your part. There is a learning curve and I might start by reading some of the pinned threads in the various subforums if you really want to do this. I'm not saying you can't, I'm simply saying that vaping-- for you-- may involve more effort than you are willing to exert in order to stay off cigarettes, and while vaping is certainly preferable to smoking, if there is anything you can do (e.g. snus, other methods) to stay away from cigarettes you may want to investigate those also.

Best of luck, as you are seeing vaping is harm REDUCTION not harm elimination, and it can be quite tricky.

Hope you have success with whatever you decide.

Anna'

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Mixing your own liquids (DYI) using one of the below will give control over nic or no & throat hit.
If you think you really need nicotine to avoid returning to smoking Nude nicotine offers nic salts called ‘hit’ which has quite the throat hit.
Flavor art bitextra will produce all the throat hit you can stand in 0 nic.
Adding PGA or vodka 2- 5 drops per 10ml will increase TH.

Again, if you have heavy feeling in your chest/lungs best to get higher pg liquids.
(50/50 - 60/40 pg/vg)
If you're experiencing reduced lung function best to get checked out by a doctor.

 

[QcVaper]

I'm not the right person to ask, I never recall getting any kind of buzz from smoking cigarettes & never experienced any kind of buzz using e liquids even when I started vaping and used the mid/high 30's mg/ml nic.

High PG liquids tend to have more throat hit, some flavors give more th, there are additives for DIY that increase th.

I second this comment, in 10 years of smoking i've never had any nic "buzz" and only about 1-2 times from chain vaping.

like everyone says though 25mg is very high, and a nic buzz can easily lead to nicotine overdose/poisoning (never remember which one) if you wanna get high nicotine is not the right way to go.

 

[BrotherBob]

Best way to describe it is you feel relaxed and a bit light headed, but overall happy. The current vape setup I was using was doing just that and completely curbing any desire to relapse to smoking, but with me feeling what I do in my chest, i'm definitely reconsidering vaping in general unless I can find something much less "harsh" with the same benefits.

Welcome and glad you joined.
@stols001 reply is very informative.
Nic salts at 25 mg --------This may be your number one problem.

The local Vape store just tells me that in order to get the throat hit and nic buzz, you need higher nicotine. Not much help...

Sounds like you got the brush off because the salesperson is just that.
Could try any e-liquid 50/50 at (18 mg MTL/6 mg DL) to start and adjust to suit.

Ill look into some higher PG stuff and see what I come up with.

Higher the PG, more taste and TH. Good plan.

After trying all suggested, and problems persist, please seek medical advice.

 

[AJ1098]

Thanks to everyone very much for your replies!

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to everyone - life and work got in the way of my fun time LOL

I will take all of this advice and look into other juice options, drop the nic down a bit and look into potentially higher PG liquids so that I can get that TH that I missed so much since quitting smoking (that was my second favorite part of cigarettes).

And about the nic “buzz” - I probably shouldn’t call it a buzz. It’s more like a very calming, relaxing feeling and lasts maybe a minute. I do get a little light headed sometimes too. I wouldn’t classify it as a high though

 

[suprtrkr]

+1, cut that nic down. Way down. And the lung heaviness may be caused by the VG content of your juice.

 

[stols001]

I find that "vague satisfied feeling" is best mimicked by WTA juice, although dropping nic content seems a wise idea. It's the alkaloids and tar that give you that feeling (IMO) not just nic. With that said, you haven't had that sensation in a while, so inhaling, hand to mouth action and nicotine may be enough to replace it.

Best of luck,

Anna

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

You're getting great guidance. Welcome to ECF!

Minor nit: That lightheadedness you got from smoking is from the carbon monoxide pushing Oxygen out of the blood.

 

[AJ1098]

Thanks everyone! I am getting great information.

I actually did some research and I found that Nic Salts are more in line with what I want. They are less harsh on the throat and they give that similar feeling I get when I used to smoke.

I’m using a Sourin Drop for MTL vaping and it’s working excellent!