Please help. I smoked moderately, 10 to 12 Marlboro Ultralights a day. My favorite memory of smoking was working in the early morning hours. Coffee and quiet and razor sharp focus. I switched completely to 3% menthol Juul vapes one day while traveling for business. Had a few issues dealing with dry mouth, and the brain fog still scares me, but kept with it. It’s now been six weeks. I’ve hated that I was going through an entire pod a day—vaping while thinking indoors, and I could feel that awful despondency when I didn’t have my vape in my pocket. Addiction still clearly my issue. I need to break free. And 6 weeks is a triumph, but Juul just not sustainable. Yesterday went to my local shop and bought a NordX, and the shopkeeper gave me a 3 mg 60/40 “chocolate shake” freebase juice. Vaped it over the past 24 hours as I would the Juul at 10 W. Hate the sickly sweetness but more than that I can feel the intense crazy mood swinginess and brain fog—which makes me think the nic level is much lower. Also feeling some throat irritation. Am I doing this right in my journey to wean myself off nic completely? Are there better ways? Also what is a good tolerable day-long juice that doesn’t linger or coat my mouth with sickly sweet? Juul tobacco not good, so maybe tobacco not an option. Willing to try mint or menthol so long as it’s safe. I know I’m asking for so much but advice would really be useful.
Switched from ultralight Cigs to Juul and now just got a NordX
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Welcome to ECF, and best of luck on your quitting journey! It sounds like you're doing pretty well so far.
Your current setup (juice and system) is weaker (lower nicotine) than the Juul was. Percentage nicotine is 10 times mg/ml (i.e. 3% = 30 mg/ml), so you'll have dropped from 30 mg/ml to 3 mg/ml. Part of that will be offset by the fact that the Nord is more powerful and will vapourize more juice per puff, but that's probably not enough of a difference to make up for such a dramatic drop.
So, what you need is juice with a higher nic level and a different flavour. With the NordX, you won't want as much nicotine as you had with the Juul, so you might want to try something in the range of 6 - 12 mg/ml. Before you go looking, I should mention that there are two types of nicotine, freebase nicotine and salt nicotine. The Juul used salt nicotine, which has less throat hit (that catch in the back of your throat when you smoke or vape) than freebase. Your current juice probably has freebase. Salt nic was developed so that people could use higher concentrations of nicotine without choking on it. Which type you prefer is up to you, but with the Nord X you might want to try freebase if you're using 6 mg/ml, but consider salts if you go up to 9 or higher. Actually, if you're having throat irritation you might want to go straight to salt nic (and lower your wattage a bit.) In case you end up wondering which kind of nicotine a particular juice has, juices using nic salt will usually say so. If it doesn't say it's nic salt, you can generally assume it's freebase.
As far as the flavour goes, it's really a matter of trial and error to find something that you like. I'd suggest buying a few small bottles with different flavours and nicotine concentrations until you find out what works for you. One of the base ingredients of ejuice (vegetable glycerin) is a bit sweet so you'll never find a juice that isn't a little sweet, but most manufacturers also add varying levels of sweetener to their flavours. You'll just need to try a few options 'til you come up with some flavours on the lower end. DIY (making your own juice) is also an option, but you probably don't want to go there at this point.
Finally, concerning the overall approach to freeing yourself from the nicotine beast: You're off to a good start. Juul and some other pods can be a bit problematic for some people because their nicotine levels are so high, so you're better off using a different device - especially one that lets you use juices with different nicotine levels. That said, my advice is not to worry too much about the nicotine at first. Most of the harm from cigarettes comes from the smoke, ash, tar and carbon monoxide you inhale, not the nicotine, so the priority is to get rid of those. Additionally, many people (although not everyone) find it much easier to cut their nicotine after they become adjusted to vaping than it ever was to cut down on cigarettes. My recommendation, whatever it may be worth, is to do what you need to do to make sure you stick to vaping and avoid cigarettes. If you start craving cigarettes, increase your vaping or your nicotine level. Once you become comfortable vaping and no longer crave cigarettes, then it's time to look at reducing your nicotine levels (at whatever pace works for you - the key is not to push it so hard that you relapse to cigarettes).
Good luck!
Your current setup (juice and system) is weaker (lower nicotine) than the Juul was. Percentage nicotine is 10 times mg/ml (i.e. 3% = 30 mg/ml), so you'll have dropped from 30 mg/ml to 3 mg/ml. Part of that will be offset by the fact that the Nord is more powerful and will vapourize more juice per puff, but that's probably not enough of a difference to make up for such a dramatic drop.
So, what you need is juice with a higher nic level and a different flavour. With the NordX, you won't want as much nicotine as you had with the Juul, so you might want to try something in the range of 6 - 12 mg/ml. Before you go looking, I should mention that there are two types of nicotine, freebase nicotine and salt nicotine. The Juul used salt nicotine, which has less throat hit (that catch in the back of your throat when you smoke or vape) than freebase. Your current juice probably has freebase. Salt nic was developed so that people could use higher concentrations of nicotine without choking on it. Which type you prefer is up to you, but with the Nord X you might want to try freebase if you're using 6 mg/ml, but consider salts if you go up to 9 or higher. Actually, if you're having throat irritation you might want to go straight to salt nic (and lower your wattage a bit.) In case you end up wondering which kind of nicotine a particular juice has, juices using nic salt will usually say so. If it doesn't say it's nic salt, you can generally assume it's freebase.
As far as the flavour goes, it's really a matter of trial and error to find something that you like. I'd suggest buying a few small bottles with different flavours and nicotine concentrations until you find out what works for you. One of the base ingredients of ejuice (vegetable glycerin) is a bit sweet so you'll never find a juice that isn't a little sweet, but most manufacturers also add varying levels of sweetener to their flavours. You'll just need to try a few options 'til you come up with some flavours on the lower end. DIY (making your own juice) is also an option, but you probably don't want to go there at this point.
Finally, concerning the overall approach to freeing yourself from the nicotine beast: You're off to a good start. Juul and some other pods can be a bit problematic for some people because their nicotine levels are so high, so you're better off using a different device - especially one that lets you use juices with different nicotine levels. That said, my advice is not to worry too much about the nicotine at first. Most of the harm from cigarettes comes from the smoke, ash, tar and carbon monoxide you inhale, not the nicotine, so the priority is to get rid of those. Additionally, many people (although not everyone) find it much easier to cut their nicotine after they become adjusted to vaping than it ever was to cut down on cigarettes. My recommendation, whatever it may be worth, is to do what you need to do to make sure you stick to vaping and avoid cigarettes. If you start craving cigarettes, increase your vaping or your nicotine level. Once you become comfortable vaping and no longer crave cigarettes, then it's time to look at reducing your nicotine levels (at whatever pace works for you - the key is not to push it so hard that you relapse to cigarettes).
Good luck!
The Juul was 30mg/ml (aka 3%) and the juice you're using in the nord is 3mg/ml (aka 0.3%). Big difference. Although I believe Juul's 30mg is way high for a light, ultralights smoker, 3mg may be a bit too low.
Cannot thank you enough for your detailed explanation here—it’s fairly intimidating to navigate this journey with no real understanding of the options available. But you provided amazing and patient insight. Your encouragement will stay with me, and I’ll be coming back to this post to stay on track. Thank you so incredibly much!
This is great insight too. I think I might kick my day off with a stronger nic base and keep the 3 mg for those idle puffs. You guys are so wonderful. Thank you.
Apparently, I’m navigating this thread with no finesse. The message I posted inadvertently for the poster below was for you. “Cannot thank you enough for your detailed explanation here—it’s fairly intimidating to navigate this journey with no real understanding of the options available. But you provided amazing and patient insight. Your encouragement will stay with me, and I’ll be coming back to this post to stay on track. Thank you so incredibly much!”
Welcome and glad you joined.
I did it, got to do it the way it works for you.
I'd say stick with the salts - get out of the JUUL system for flexibility and the money savings.. Switch to 2.4% salts and then after a month or so switch to 18mg freebase, go another month, 12mg, then 8mg, then 6mg, 3mg and then switch to zero when you're ready. It seems to me that the dependency is really bothering you so the good news is - you have a clear and fully functional off-ramp. Stick with the plan and you'll be free of it all together - and you can do it painlessly.
Others have given you great advice. Your Nord X came with two pods (with different coils) Use the RPM2 for lower nic levels (like 3-6 mg) and use the RPM for higher nic levels (12 or 18 mg) I feel that 24 mg (2.4 %) would be too strong using 25 watts. Here's the official info on the Nord X (pay attention to the coils they show when you scroll down the page):
https://www.smoktech.com/product/pod_mod/nord-x
https://www.smoktech.com/product/pod_mod/nord-x
Freebase and Salt Nic juices are usually separated by their nic potency. Generally speaking, you will only find freebase from 0 to 12 mg/mL (1.2%), and salt nic >12 mg/mL up to 50 mg/mL (5%).
I would suggest when you make the transition from nic salts (if you choose to go this route) to freebase, to purchase smaller bottles so that you can sample them first. 12 mg/mL freebase is going to hit much nastier than 15 mg/mL (1.5%) or 18 mg/mL (1.8%) nic salts. As for the VG/PG ratio of your juice, higher PG than the norm (most freebase juices use a 70VG/30PG ratio - salt nic juices are likely going to be closer to 50/50) might also contribute to the harshness you feel in your throat. Coil resistances also need to be taken into consideration. I'm not a nic salt person myself, but I can't say I've heard of many people (if any) vaping nic salts on low ohm coils with high wattages. I could be completely wrong, though.
^Does anybody here do this?
Lastly, welcome to ECF and let's kick those nasty smokes together. We like questions if you like answers.
I would suggest when you make the transition from nic salts (if you choose to go this route) to freebase, to purchase smaller bottles so that you can sample them first. 12 mg/mL freebase is going to hit much nastier than 15 mg/mL (1.5%) or 18 mg/mL (1.8%) nic salts. As for the VG/PG ratio of your juice, higher PG than the norm (most freebase juices use a 70VG/30PG ratio - salt nic juices are likely going to be closer to 50/50) might also contribute to the harshness you feel in your throat. Coil resistances also need to be taken into consideration. I'm not a nic salt person myself, but I can't say I've heard of many people (if any) vaping nic salts on low ohm coils with high wattages. I could be completely wrong, though.
^Does anybody here do this?
Lastly, welcome to ECF and let's kick those nasty smokes together. We like questions if you like answers.
And they completely alienated a large segment of the vaping population when they did that. Lots of old-school freebase juice users out there that vape high PG (50%+) were pushed to salt or go DIY (which isn't bad but sucks to be forced somewhere you don't want to go).
The hardware vape market did the same thing to MTLers around 2015 - completely alienated the MTL market for #coudzbro and it took way too many years for them to realize that mistake and start catering to MTL again.
Did the companies selling higher PG liquids completely switch over to 70/30 as well? I cannot stand (with a deep passion) people/things that bandwagon. So inconsistent and wishy-washy.
Not all, but about 8 months ago I was helping someone find 50+%PG freebase juices and I gave up. There were very few I could find. Glad I don't have to worry about it for myself.
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