Throat Hit - Nicotine and VG/PG?

[JScrub_UK]

Hey folks, posted previously asking for a bit of advice for my mum who's about to start with e-cigs. She smokes about 10-12 a day with 10mg nicotine.

She's tried a friend's vape with 1.2% nicotine (menthol flavour) and said the throat hit was much harder than she gets with her regular analogues. Is this purely down to nicotine content? If so, should I go for a 6-8mg juice?

How much of the throat hit is to do with the liquid base? PG is supposed to have a much heavier throat hit than VG from what I've read? Not sure if flavour plays a huge role either? Any advice or is it just trial and error until she finds something that suits her?

Thanks!

 

[daleron]

It is the PG that gives throat hit, that and nicotine content

 

[nyiddle]

Hey folks, posted previously asking for a bit of advice for my mum who's about to start with e-cigs. She smokes about 10-12 a day with 10mg nicotine.

She's tried a friend's vape with 1.2% nicotine (menthol flavour) and said the throat hit was much harder than she gets with her regular analogues. Is this purely down to nicotine content? If so, should I go for a 6-8mg juice?

How much of the throat hit is to do with the liquid base? PG is supposed to have a much heavier throat hit than VG from what I've read? Not sure if flavour plays a huge role either? Any advice or is it just trial and error until she finds something that suits her?

Thanks!

So part of it is a trial & error/personal preference kinda thing. Some people vape max PG with no problem (and even prefer it). Personally, I can't vape unflavored/0-nic PG as even that has an uncomfortable throat feel for me.

Nicotine content does contribute quite a bit to throat hit too. In the same sense that I can't comfortably vape a max PG blend, I can't comfortably vape a max VG blend over about 10mg of nicotine. I've noticed that you will sort of get desensitized to the higher nic level if you stick with it -- though I don't know if building a tolerance to the throat hit of nicotine is a good thing -- but the throat hit from PG is something that I can't seem to get over/build a tolerance to.

Flavoring plays a rather large role in it too. In general, I've found citrus or menthol flavors to be a bit harsher on the throat than other flavors. Some are moreso than others, by which I mean I've tried some citrus juices that I just can't enjoy maybe because of the PG/VG blend or because of the specific flavoring. Other citrus flavors go down smooth, no discernible throat hit when compared to even straight VG. It's kind of hard to pinpoint where the throat hit is coming from in a pre-mixed batch of e-liquid.

My suggestion would be to buy her varying strengths of e-liquid, and ideally, in different PG/VG blends. Maybe get her 2 bottles of the same flavor, one in 12mg and one in 0mg, and if she wants, she can combine the two in the same tank. 50/50 would yield 6mg nicotine. In due time she'll figure out one or two that she prefers and then can seek out more juices with those specific properties.

 

[JScrub_UK]

So part of it is a trial & error/personal preference kinda thing. Some people vape max PG with no problem (and even prefer it). Personally, I can't vape unflavored/0-nic PG as even that has an uncomfortable throat feel for me.

Nicotine content does contribute quite a bit to throat hit too. In the same sense that I can't comfortably vape a max PG blend, I can't comfortably vape a max VG blend over about 10mg of nicotine. I've noticed that you will sort of get desensitized to the higher nic level if you stick with it -- though I don't know if building a tolerance to the throat hit of nicotine is a good thing -- but the throat hit from PG is something that I can't seem to get over/build a tolerance to.

Flavoring plays a rather large role in it too. In general, I've found citrus or menthol flavors to be a bit harsher on the throat than other flavors. Some are moreso than others, by which I mean I've tried some citrus juices that I just can't enjoy maybe because of the PG/VG blend or because of the specific flavoring. Other citrus flavors go down smooth, no discernible throat hit when compared to even straight VG. It's kind of hard to pinpoint where the throat hit is coming from in a pre-mixed batch of e-liquid.

My suggestion would be to buy her varying strengths of e-liquid, and ideally, in different PG/VG blends. Maybe get her 2 bottles of the same flavor, one in 12mg and one in 0mg, and if she wants, she can combine the two in the same tank. 50/50 would yield 6mg nicotine. In due time she'll figure out one or two that she prefers and then can seek out more juices with those specific properties.

Thanks for going into so much depth on your reply @nyiddle!

I like the idea of buying the same flavours in various strengths so she can combine until she gets a good feel for what's best for her. Is there any difference in throat hit from 1st gen to 2nd gen e-cigs as I think she's keen on trying a basic starter kit (cigalike type thing) to transition away from smoking first of all. Then hopefully she progress onto the bigger and better vapes that keep getting recommended

 

[nyiddle]

Thanks for going into so much depth on your reply @nyiddle!

I like the idea of buying the same flavours in various strengths so she can combine until she gets a good feel for what's best for her. Is there any difference in throat hit from 1st gen to 2nd gen e-cigs as I think she's keen on trying a basic starter kit (cigalike type thing) to transition away from smoking first of all. Then hopefully she progress onto the bigger and better vapes that keep getting recommended

Heh, never really heard of them as "first gen" versus "second gen" so I'm not 100% on what you mean, but I'm gonna assume you mean the difference between, say, a cigalike and a larger mod/something with a rebuildable tank section/etc..

In general, cigalikes and things that produce less vapor (carto tanks and the like) require higher nicotine levels because the juice consumption rate is lower. In a carto tank at 1+ ohm, 5mL can last a whole day. In a sub-ohm tank you could easily burn through that 5mL before lunchtime. As juice consumption increases (and ohms decrease) you'll need less nicotine. When I first switched to RDA's I had to drop from 12mg nic down to 3/6mg just to be able to comfortably take pulls. That 12mg in a carto tank, however, still gets the job done. Just a different delivery system.

 

[JScrub_UK]

Heh, never really heard of them as "first gen" versus "second gen" so I'm not 100% on what you mean, but I'm gonna assume you mean the difference between, say, a cigalike and a larger mod/something with a rebuildable tank section/etc..

In general, cigalikes and things that produce less vapor (carto tanks and the like) require higher nicotine levels because the juice consumption rate is lower. In a carto tank at 1+ ohm, 5mL can last a whole day. In a sub-ohm tank you could easily burn through that 5mL before lunchtime. As juice consumption increases (and ohms decrease) you'll need less nicotine. When I first switched to RDA's I had to drop from 12mg nic down to 3/6mg just to be able to comfortably take pulls. That 12mg in a carto tank, however, still gets the job done. Just a different delivery system.

That's exactly what I meant (sorry for being vague, still trying to get the lingo down )

Again, really informative and extremely grateful for the help! Hopefully will be able to sort my mum out with the right blend, flavour and type to get her on the path to vaping full time... Or I'll just start making her do her own research haha.

 

[LadyVape]

Hey folks, posted previously asking for a bit of advice for my mum who's about to start with e-cigs. She smokes about 10-12 a day with 10mg nicotine.

She's tried a friend's vape with 1.2% nicotine (menthol flavour) and said the throat hit was much harder than she gets with her regular analogues. Is this purely down to nicotine content? If so, should I go for a 6-8mg juice?

How much of the throat hit is to do with the liquid base? PG is supposed to have a much heavier throat hit than VG from what I've read? Not sure if flavour plays a huge role either? Any advice or is it just trial and error until she finds something that suits her?

Thanks!

 

[LadyVape]

Good question. I'm new to all this too so your question helps me too! Thanks.

 

[nyiddle]

That's exactly what I meant (sorry for being vague, still trying to get the lingo down )

Again, really informative and extremely grateful for the help! Hopefully will be able to sort my mum out with the right blend, flavour and type to get her on the path to vaping full time... Or I'll just start making her do her own research haha.

Heh I'm always willing to field questions for new vapers trying to kick their habit. Often it's a lot easier to come here and poll the masses than go to Google. In the end you'll find a more understandable set of responses and often (when it's necessary) people are willing to back things up with links to scholarly articles/factual evidence. And, as @LadyVape proves, this is now documentation for other vapers to read. People will likely find this thread through Google if they happen to search for the right keywords. We're making history, lol.

And for the record, with my RDA (rebuildable dripping atomizer), I probably vaped through about 3mL @ 6mg nic before lunchtime*.


*Tuna fish sandwich with celery and onion, mmmm.