Gooty,
This all comes down to your personal experience.. and I will use mine as comparison.
I smoked analogs for right at thirty years 2 to 3 packs a day marlboro red depending on the stress of the day. When I started to vape... I quit analogs the day I got my SD and yes vaped heavy for the first couple weeks. When I started, I figured I smoked heavy, almost one after the other all the time, and so, I should start with a high mg/ml nic juice.. wrong thinking. For some it is different. others well, like me I found that most nicotine cessation replacement therapies calculate that the regular daily intake of a smoker per pack is 14mg and they intensify the dosage to anywhere between 18 and 24mg's. I basically chose the median of 18 mg... and took up mixing my own using glycerine, 18mg/ml nic juice, 0mg/ml nic juice, various flavorings and so on. I decided to reduce my mg percentage by carrying 18 mg and 16 mg, equally satisfying my cravings between the two. I figured I will give myself two month intervals and reduce my mg nic intake by 2mg each interval. I am not going to remove nic entirely, but I just want to get down to a safer usage at around 6 to 8 mg/ml.
anyway, that my $0.02 for what it is worth.
Tom