The Importance of E-liquid Flavours

[Frenchfry1942]

I didn't find many store-bought flavors very good. I DIY and can tailor flavors to my taste buds.

I really support flavors and find this FDA involvement misdirected. As to society's benefit for health, alcohol is far worse. As to this survey, I may not be addressing the question directly, but there is a clear consensus about the benefits of flavors and the misdirection of the FDA.

 

[QcVaper]

If i didn't have flavors when i quit smoking, i would've never been able to vape as i 100% hate tobacco flavors and menthol ones. I started with a water melon strawberry mix and loving it was how i managed to not miss cigarettes one bit.
Without it i'd still be smoking for sure tbh.

 

[IDJoel]

That's good perspective. There are definitely many benefits of vaping unflavored.
As far as savory, there's a thread I saw recently here posting about experimenting with a corned beef brisket, I believe, diy juice. How's that for savory haha, savory could be an herb flavoring in it.
Smoked brisket, that was it.
Smoked Brisket

I am not sure how you feel about DIY flavor extractions... but, to me, that is in the realm of "extreme." Extreme being on the far reaches of "safe," or "safer." Fatty meat being "not safe" in my opinion.

While entertaining on a purely theoretical level...I would never condone such an experiment... especially in a home environment. Laboratories might be able to analyze known harmful components, and be able to isolate them. But, the home DIYer most likely can not.

These (in my opinion) are not good/helpful arguments against those who are already anti-vaping. I only ask you to think about who your audience may be.

 

[United States]

For me it's a mind trick.

A puff from a vape with a nice fruit juice flavor or a nasty smoke flavor from a cigarette.

When I pose the question to my brain it prefers the yummy fruit flavor. There is still some will power required due to a 40 year habit.

It's kinda like a rubber band around your wrist. One day you stretched it and let it go "pow" "ouch". You did it day after day for years. Well, you get used to that after a while and actually it becomes a habit like putting your right leg in your pants first. It becomes instinctive.

One day you decide "thwacking my wrist everyday with a rubber band is stupid". Many will do it anyway. And then as much as you tell yourself how stupid that is that thought makes you want to do it more. Like it's an obsession to repeat the same stupid mistake otherwise it is stuck in your brain...that little voice on your shoulder that says "just once won't be a problem".

Then one day you place a strip of leather on your other wrist. A strip of leather that smells wonderful. Say, soaked in a flowery perfume. Instead of thwacking yourself you sniff the pleasant smelling leather. Yet that habit of thwacking yourself does not necessarily suddenly go away. Yet with that pleasant smell your brain will eventually decide to pick pleasure over pain.

Try this: figure out which shoe you put on first. Tomorrow decide to put the other one on first. See how easy that small habit can drive you nuts trying to change.

 

[EverythingEvil]

I really don't feel like vaping would have been an effective way for me to quit smoking if the only flavors avalible where tobacco/mint/unflavored. I'm not really opposed to tobacco flavors if they are done right, but I still cant vape something like that all day every day and enjoy it. In fact I had a very hard time in the early days finding flavors that I liked in general. It wasn't until I found a few flavors that I actually enjoyed that I was able to quit smoking.

 

[Tim Wiseman]

Basically, I have to mix my own liquids, since the professionally produced ones are too low in % dosage for me, so I know how it is to taste (next to) nothing in liquids. It's not the worst thing that could happen, but it is a real bummer nonetheless.

Anyways...

Spoiler

I don't see how they could effectively ban flavored e-liquids. After all, we're talking about VG,PG, and food flavors, ALL OF WHICH will still be widely available because each one of them has 1001 different uses apart from being combined as vape juice. You could produce vapable ejuice and label it as "flavored horse massage lotion". And it wouldn't even be a lie, since it really can (and is) used for such applications...

And if everything breaks down... what would effectively prevent a shop from having 1 corner, in which they sell 120ml bottles of flavorless liquid, and another corner, in the same store, where you can buy 10/20ml bottles of food flavors? It's basically an enforced "shake and vape" situation. It may cause a very small rise in production costs, and it would be a slight inconvenience for everyone involved, but that's really it... it will keep noone from vaping flavored liquids, except maybe the laziest of throwaway-pod-cartridge buyers.

Totally agree but we are all aware of this, the fact that people will very easily be able to make their own flavoured e-liquid isn't the issue as we all know that. It's still a disaster for vaping if flavoured e-liquids were banned because some people don't want to make their own but simply want to buy it ready prepared. And i think the biggest impact it would have is new people converting from ciggies to vaping (although it's not) it will sound complicated and too much trouble than it's worth so will carry on smoking.

 

[SlowTalker]

Finding a flavor I could vape all day was vital to my quitting a 40 year habit. I struggled for three years with vaping, always going back to smoking, convinced that I was never going to get off cigarettes. When you are smoking you are constantly tasting something, doing something with you hands, keeping track of lighters, ashtrays, etc. That's why many people who try to quit start eating more, munching and snacking all day looking for that taste satisfaction. Vaping replaces all of that. It is a tremendous psychological comfort to have found a flavor you crave more than cigarettes, to have something in your hands, to be keeping track of tanks and mods and juice bottles, so much so that for many it becomes a full blown hobby. Vaping works beautifully just the way it is.

 

[sofarsogood]

I was a dual user for 6 weeks. During that time the vape flavors changed my palet so that cigs were tasting worse and worse. That made it easier to finally eliminate the cigs.

Since then I only vape DIY. I use only one flavoring, at 1% flavoring. At that level I never tire of the taste. It's cheap and convenient.

Flavors are not what's driving the kids. If flavors were so important kids would never start smoking. Cigarettes taste terrible.

 

[Letitia]

My 1st cig was a Kool and I instantly loved everything about it including the taste. Some do enjoy the taste of combustibles. I've also smoked some pipe tobaccos that I enjoyed the taste of.

 

[ruet]

Flavor is important but good flavor more so. I'd rather go flavorless than have a mediocre flavor forced upon me.

 

[Spydro]

I had already stopped smoking before I had even heard of this thing called vaping. It had been easy for me to quit smoking because I was not addicted to nicotine (had quit a few times 'cold turkey' before without issues for various periods/various reasons during the 50+ years I used stinkies and pipes). But I missed the mechanics of smoking. Then something over 5.5 years ago I saw an ad on TV about Blu (a KR808 device). So I did some extensive research for a few days, learned about vaping, better gear than Blu and entered into vaping. My research had also included making your own liquids (DIY), so I dived into that as well right from the start and eventually learned how to and started extracting some of my own flavors as well.

So my vaping started as being about the mechanics of smoking, not quitting smoking. But it soon also become about the flavor. DIY to my personal taste, not someone else's idea of taste for way over-priced premade that at the time only came with nicotine in it. In the 5.5+ years since I have perfected about 160+ recipes to my personal tastes (and can adjust them on a whim as tastes change).

Maybe the powers to be can/will ban the sale of whatever vape products they choose in this country, maybe not. But either way with the amount of gear/extra supplies I have and the ability to make my own flavors from things that they can not ban it would have little effect on my DIY perfect vapes for what little is left of my life.

Food for thought... self reliance may well become the only future of vaping in at least some countries.
(ie, Singapore has banned everything vape related.)

 

[DreamRJ]

Well for me I stopped smoking nearly 7 years ago, I started on those cig style ones I bought from the supermarket. I forgot the name of them now tho. I was on them for about 4 months and yes once I was on them I didn't smoke a normal cigarette, it was a straight switch from one to the other.

Then after those 4 months a friend of mine told me to use a site called pink mule and buy a proper pen shape e cig with a clearomizer but I ordered bulk amount of clearomizers on ebay and extra batteries as well. The batteries was the actual thing I held as the battery basically was the e cig with the button already on it, no screen just flashed different colors. I was then on those and also tried ego twist ones as well where u can change the voltage at the bottom of the battery with turning the end of it, for about 5 and a half years. Then late December 2017 I fancied to try sub ohm after a friend recommended me to get the kangertech toptank mini platinum mod. And that is what I have been on since then and still am.

So getting back on topic now I get to flavours!

As for flavours well I buy a lot of different flavours mainy fruit and desert flavours and I also mix them up a bit adding some drops of 1 and 1 of another, I have also tried 3 flavours in one mix once and that was very very nice it was just basically vanilla, apple, apricot the 3 way mix.

But yeah flavours make vaping soo much more pleasurable and more nice to vape. I could never vape without flavours it would be soo boring. I hate menthol flavours as well. Also hate mint flavour too, cos that just lingers and never goes away and when you have a drink of anything it is not pleasant at all, makes your throat have a strange feeling taste sensation that does not go away. So I stay clear of any flavours that are menthol.

It is funny though I do like mints like those polo mints you used to be able to buy. But no ty in e cigs lol

 

[tgs3]

Flavor is very important to me. I tend towards tobacco flavors but there is a huge variety among them. I also regularly vape horchata and other cinnamon flavors as well as vanilla.

What is going on here in the US with respect to vaping is a huge psy op. When I mention to people that I quit smoking after 40+ years through vaping they either say, "but that is worse" or "you don't use flavors do you?" Incredible!

 

[stols001]

I care a lot about flavor, and with vaping, it's two-fold. I didn't much "care" about the taste of tobacco, I just bought additive free loose tobacco and had an electric injector into tubes, because I smoked 3 ppd and that was cheapest. It also did kill my taste buds in general. I was never a menthol smoker and disliked that taste.

However, I DIY and flavorings really make vaping more enjoyable and tangible for me. I always have at least 12 flavors going. I never get vaper's tongue, because I am rotating my flavors.

I also find DIY super fun and enjoyable and a great hobby. In my opinion making my own flavors, you can't do much better than that. However, I also like to cook.

Were I not going the DIY route, I would likely still want a variety of flavors. It just enhances the vaping experience for me overall.

I am never going to vape unflavored, that simply isn't going to happen, regardless of what methods I have to use to achieve that safely. If flavorings become harder to obtain, more narrow in scope, that will be disappointing. I think if I did not DIY already, current talk would make me want to do so.

I am not going to allow the government to rule my actions in this matter, it's way too important to me, and believe you me, I have managed to get my hands (safely) on a bunch of (irrelevant really, so I won't mention them) substances and process then FLAVORINGS and to do so safely.

However, it certainly does anger me the government talking what it is talking and while flavors are a worry I have enough nic to keep me going already, if anything happens to DIY well, I imagine that will be the hardest thing to obtain.

I am also angered for vapers who wish to vape more easily via gas station methods and etc. It's not for me, but harm reduction is harm reduction HOWEVER it is done and this could discourage and even off put new or not yet vapers which in my opinion is EXACTLY what the government is looking for.

THAT makes me furious. Sorry for the ramble I have officially committed myself to a "Jewish Sunday" where I do no work at ALL.

Anna

 

[JSL_Aus]

Yes, it is a psy op in Australia too. Crazy stuff. I told my local doctor the other day that I had quit smoking and was vaping instead, and he wasn't impressed. Oh well.

And we have ads on TV here that are advertising nicotine inhalers, and the latest ads advertise berry flavour nicotine inhalers. So what is the difference between that and vaping some flavour? None if you ask me, except the powers that be are invested in their inhalers.

Makes me angry, the hypocrisy of it all. I mean, it is considered safe, good and effective to quit smoking using a berry / fruit flavoured inhaler, but don't dare try and quit smoking using vaping..

 

[Hotwire]

Any group of people wanting to ban flavoured e-liquid but still allow the sale of any combustible tobacco product, be it roll up's or cigarettes or cigars - would be insane. If cigarettes had only recently been invented there is no way they would be made legal!

Insanity!

If they took away flavour, I would likely up the nicotine. I've recently gone up from 3mg to 4.5mg and 6mg and have to admit I have much less urge to try or experiment with different flavours anymore as the nic hit is more noticeable.

I don't think they will ban flavours though.

 

[Baditude]

If cigarettes had only recently been invented there is no way they would be made legal! Insanity!

The United States' early economy was largely based on the tobacco trade to England. Not much has changed since that time. A large segment of our economy still depends upon tobacco, and banning tobacco would put hundreds of thousands of workers out of business. That's not about to happen any time soon.