Nicotine level to start off with

[Tess Clark]

I'll be ordering my first stuff (finally) in about a month, and I have a pretty good idea what I want as far as hardware. I'm not so sure about what nicotine level to start with, though. I originally thought 18 since I currently smoke about a pack a day and that's what the handy little charts say is the equivalent.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if 12 wouldn't be a better starting point. I smoke outsidea and go out of my way to make it inconvenient to drop what I'm doing to go out and smoke. I have a feeling that I'm going to have an e-cig stuck in my face a lot more frequently than I smoke, especially once I find a few flavors I really like, so 18 may be overkill. Does that sound sensible? Blah, I have a feeling that finding the right pg/vg ratio and nicotine level are going to be the hardest parts of this.

 

[tayone415]

I'll be ordering my first stuff (finally) in about a month, and I have a pretty good idea what I want as far as hardware. I'm not so sure about what nicotine level to start with, though. I originally thought 18 since I currently smoke about a pack a day and that's what the handy little charts say is the equivalent.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if 12 wouldn't be a better starting point. I smoke outsidea and go out of my way to make it inconvenient to drop what I'm doing to go out and smoke. I have a feeling that I'm going to have an e-cig stuck in my face a lot more frequently than I smoke, especially once I find a few flavors I really like, so 18 may be overkill. Does that sound sensible? Blah, I have a feeling that finding the right pg/vg ratio and nicotine level are going to be the hardest parts of this.

I would say a 50/50 blend would be a good starting point as far as nicotine no matter what level you get in the beginning you're going to over vape, so you might want to get a few different strengths to test out and you can mix them to lessen the nicotine if you need to. If you want a throat hit get 18 mg 12 mg will have a light throat for many people.

 

[RIMP]

I would get a couple of samples in 12mg and 18mg to try and see what works best for you If you find the 12 isn't enough, or the 18 is too much, you can always mix them in equal parts to get 15mg What types of flavors are you interested in? What hardware are you planning on using?

 

[realsis]

Hi 12 sounds a little low for a pack a day smoker in my opinion. I was a pack a day and sometimes more and I was able to quit comfortably using 24mg nicotine. I personally recommend you start with 18mg. Thing is if you start out too low your cravings will be more intense. I think 18 is a good starting point. You can always decrease later once you get some time under you belt. It will make your transition easier. 24 would be too much for you but I think 18 might be a good starter. If it's too strong, decrease from there. If you aren't getting enough nicotine you won't be as comfortable. I was able to quit without many cravings and very comfortable because my nicotine level was correct for me. So consider 18 to start, then drop off to 12. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

 

[Tess Clark]

Thank you guys for the feedback, I've been reading so much that it feels like my brain is scrambled. RIMP, I'm pretty sure I'm going to order an MVP 2.0 along with a few different clearomizers to play with. I can't wait for the next four weeks to pass so that I can toss my last pack of cigarettes in the trash.

ETA:As for flavors, pretty sure fruits and desserts are going to be what I like best, but I'm trying to keep an open mind about other types.

 

[coalyard]

I would get a couple of samples in 12mg and 18mg to try and see what works best for you If you find the 12 isn't enough, or the 18 is too much, you can always mix them in equal parts to get 15mg What types of flavors are you interested in? What hardware are you planning on using?

Good advice here, +1. Since nicotine itself isn't harmful to you, it isn't a race to see how low you can go; the objective is to quit smoking. You need to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. I began at 24 mg/ml, and stayed there for a long time before I started reducing my nic levels.

IOW, there are no set rules of thumb to follow. If you feel sick or woozy from vaping, lower your nic level. If you have cravings, or feel un-satisfied, increase it. Good luck, and welcome to ECF!

 

[pwheeler]

All of these others offer great advice, especially starting too low. Your goal is to take the desire for cigarettes away. If you are vaping at a higher nic dose, once you feel satisfied, you will have the tendency to slow down anyway. I started at 24mg. I was a pack a day smoker, the strongest full flavored cigarettes I could find. My 24mg only lasted about 2 weeks and went down to 18. I was at 18 until I upgraded to dripping and especially a Reo Grand. It hits like a freight train, so I had to drop to 12, and now I have about half of my juices at 6 and I've only been vaping for a little over 6 months. You just have to try what works for you. Get some juices at various levels of nicotine and see where you have to go from there.

 

[LilRageKitty]

Good question. It's one I was confused about when I first started vaping. If I really like a particular ejuice, I tend to get lower nic levels so I don't over-do it, but when I first started I was getting 18 and would start vaping 12 or 6 in the evenings. I always went for 50/50 pg/vg and for the most part still do.

I agree with everyone else about trying samples or ordering small bottles with a wide variety of flavors. Another key tip is, just because you like eating/tasting something in every day life, doesn't mean you'll like vaping it and vice versa. Many times I thought "I won't like this flavor." and it ends up being one of my favorites.

Set yourself up with decent variety of nicotine strengths, flavors and set-ups if cost permits.

Congrats on quitting! xo

 

[Nishi]

Higher nicotine for a couple of weeks to stave off cravings for the smokes, but always the low nic 6mg from evening onwards or you'll be up at nights as I discovered initially.

 

[Gandalf the White]

Everyone here is giving very good advice... I was a pack a day smoker (Pall Mall Blue 100s) and started at 18 Nic.50/50 pg/vg. I was in search of a tobacco flavor at first but quickly gave up on that... I very much like Fruits and some Deserts.

Here is the thing... I had been smoking for over 30 years and I really didn't have any cravings after I quit. As far as I am concerned, that means my nic level must have been right on the money... I do vape more because I can now vape in the house where, like you, I would smoke outside only. I have about 7 or 8 flavors that I like. At about 1 month, I replaced the bottle that ran out with 12 Nic and have done the same as others run out... So right now I have a mix of 12 and 18. Most of my regular flavors have been converted as they are the ones that ran out first... Still no cravings.

As coalyard pointed out - It is not a race and the most important rule is that you do what is best for you. I would suggest buying one or two flavors that you like in a 10 ml bottle (because your taste will change in the first couple of weeks) that way you can adjust your flavor and nic level as needed without wasting a lot of money because your taste buds woke up. That's what we did and we quickly found 2 flavors that we don't like any more and a lot that we do

5 weeks digital only this Saturday!

Good luck!!!

 

[dice57]

Nic level is highly dependent upon vape gear and watts vaped at. The better the gear, more watts vaped at, the less mg level one needs.

Smoked for ~30 years, 1.5 pad. With an ego and changeable atomizer, needed 24 mg nic, or higher, to satisfy the nic cravings, once went to regulated mod and a re-buildable atomizer, rba, had to drop down to 18, and my watts vaped at went from 8 watts to a 15 watt vape, Now that am using mechs and high amp regulated mods, had to drop down to 12 mg, and thinking of going to 10.

Recommend getting some 24 at least, just in case. May need it. Finding the preferred VG/PG ratio is one of the most frustrating things a new vaper faces. I found high PG to harsh and found True Vape at 70-80% VG. Every ones is different, but starting at 50/50 is a good place to start.

and to get ahead of the frustration, look for flavors that sound enjoyable, don't run down the "looking for My Brand of smokes" juice trail. This is a false path, it doesn't exist:

After a year, now have about 9 flavors on hand to choose from, and a mod for every flavor Vape is progressive, the longer one vapes the better it gets

Vape long and Prosper.!!!

 

[K31Scout]

I started at 18mg and never had a craving, so it worked for me. One night we went to a casino and I was chain vaping for 3 hours and 18mg was just too much of a good thing. I would have liked a 6mg or less for nights like those. My prefered mix is 30/70 PG/VG.

 

[mullberry]

when I first started I was vaping 6mg and it wasn't enough so i moved up to 12 then 18 then 36. after the nicotine cravings stopped (which only took a 30ml of 36mg) I went straight from 36 back down to 12. in my opinion I think you should just try a bunch of stuff, remember you are doing this to quit smoking so get that done first. you can worry about cloud chasing and mods after the cravings stop.

 

[Johnnie Price]

I'm at about 28? 30? I haven't done the math. I mix 30 ml of 25 mg WTA with 20 ml of 36 mg and it feels a little weak to me some days. I need to save up for that 120 ml bottle of 36 mg WTA maybe. And this is after nearly 3 years in.

But I used to smoke 3-4 packs a day, so that may have something to do with it.

 

[Warpigs]

I was a 2-3 pack a day and chewed Red Man tobacco. I started with 36 nic. Now I'm down to 24.

 

[pfaber11]

i use 3.6 % right now and don't suffer any headaches or sickness. the more nicotine the better in my opinion. still probably yields a lower nicotine count in the blood stream than smoking a full favoured cigarette.

 

[Rosco]

I smoked for over 40 years, so I started at 36 mg on Nov. 8, 2010. That was also the last day I smoked a cigarette too. I just gradually tapered down. I only do menthol and I've mixed my own for 3 years now and I fun around 10-16 mg. I mainly
just vape now because I like menthol.
Good luck.....And never smoke again. Your body will thank you forever.

 

[grannynut41]

Ok..I keep seeing this Reo Grand...what is it???? I was a pack a day smoker full flavor/lights. started out 6mg up to 12mg now. sometimes mix the two cause i don't want waste what I got. But I feel like I am not getting the throat hit I want. I just ordered some juice with higher pg in it. Can't wait to get to see if that works. My set up is vision batteries with kangertech protank 3 and or kangertech mini protank 3 and just recently got aspire bdc . Am I at least on right track?? I know if I puff to much I get a headache...I wonder if to much nicotine, but I'm not satisfied. Any suggestions???

All of these others offer great advice, especially starting too low. Your goal is to take the desire for cigarettes away. If you are vaping at a higher nic dose, once you feel satisfied, you will have the tendency to slow down anyway. I started at 24mg. I was a pack a day smoker, the strongest full flavored cigarettes I could find. My 24mg only lasted about 2 weeks and went down to 18. I was at 18 until I upgraded to dripping and especially a Reo Grand. It hits like a freight train, so I had to drop to 12, and now I have about half of my juices at 6 and I've only been vaping for a little over 6 months. You just have to try what works for you. Get some juices at various levels of nicotine and see where you have to go from there.

 

[Its Just Me]

I started with 24 and worked down to zero over a two month period. Don't miss it one bit, and didn't gain any weight.

But like so many other things in life, what was good for me, might not suite everyone.

 

[chasingcloudz]

I would try 18 just starting then work your way down