This is kind of a "what works best for you" situation. Some people find that tobacco flavors work well for them; helping to transition from cigarettes, to vaping. Others, as in
my own experience, find tobacco flavors only make the desire to smoke worse. I have no explanation why (unless it is the pressure of finding a matching taste of something so familiar and so specific); and I don't know of any way to find out, other than trying tobacco flavors. Just buy small sample sizes until you can find if it works for you. Nothing is more disheartening than buying a 120ml "deal;" only to find it is not going to work after just a milliliter or two.
I will say, that
to me, tobacco vapes taste
nothing like the flavor of smoking/burning tobacco (cigarettes). At best, I have found some, that are fairly reminiscent of the way unlit tobacco smells (if that makes any sense
). Perhaps that is where my cravings came from... I was "tasting" that fresh pack of cigarettes, that was just begging to be smoked. So, if you hoping/expecting to find something, that is going to taste exactly the way your Salem Slims taste during smoking; am predicting it is going to be difficult to find.
Again; it is going to take some experimenting to find what works best for
you. It may be a combination of tobacco and menthol, or just tobacco, or just menthol, or something else entirely different.
I spent a couple of weeks chasing that "cigarette" taste and found nothing that satisfied. I only found that my desire to smoke increased. It was moving away from tobacco flavors that worked for
me. I tried candy, fruit, cream, and dessert flavors. Still didn't "wow" my taste buds; but they didn't make me want to smoke either.
It wasn't until it tried a few less sweet mint flavors; that I found my happy place. I was somewhat of a casual (not all day/every day) gum chewer, and mint flavored gums were what I tended to gravitate toward. There was a familiarity to the vape... without any pressure to find an "exact" copy. It was what worked for
me.
I have a friend, who is still a dual user (he both smokes
and vapes). The odd thing is; he smokes regular Camel Lights, but like to vape menthol e-liquid without any tobacco. For him... it is all about the "cool" feeling.
We are all a little different, and it is just going to take some time, patience, and experimenting to find what is going to work best for
you. It can help if you have broader, more general, expectations. It becomes more difficult, more challenging, when you are trying to find a precise replacement for a very specific taste.
For what it's worth: I have been vaping now for more than five years. My current go-to flavor is actually unflavored (just PG, VG, and nicotine). I find it satisfying, just a hint of sweet, and I have
zero expectations for flavor. It is never disappointing; if not huge on the "wow" factor.
This is a hard one
for me to answer. You said you are a half-a-pack-a-day smoker. 12mg/mL does not sound unreasonable to me.
BUT... (yes; the big but
) it can be influenced by many different things. The hardware (the physical equipment being used), the setup (the coils, resistance, power applied, airflow), your own vaping style (inhales that are mostly in the mouth and throat, or down deep to the bottom of your lungs inhales), frequency (are the times you can vape limited; or are you able to vape as often as you want?).
The only thing I can say, from personal experience is, don't skimp on nicotine early on. Especially if your goal is quitting cigarettes.
I was a pack-and-a-half-a-day smoker for 30+years. a salesman recommended 18mg/mL e-liquid for me. It was "okay," but I still felt that constant edginess, that seems to plague many of us when trying to quit. I also couldn't get the vape out of my hand (I have seen infants less dependent on their pacifiers; than I was on my vape). I went back to the shop, explained my unease, and they suggested I try a small bottle of 24mg/mL.
IT WORKED! The edginess was gone. I could set my vape down, and actually do things, without constantly sucking on it. And, in about a week and a half/two weeks, I was finding it a bit
too much, and returned to the 18mg/mL. Life was good.
If you find a flavor (or flavors) you like; it might be a good idea to have a couple of different strengths on hand, so you can adjust as cravings dictate.
This is another tough one to answer... and boils down to a few choices.
One is purely functional. The ease with which the juice flows to the coil (wicking). VG is thicker (more viscous) than PG. The thinner the e-liquid; the easier it wicks. And... the easier the device can leak (flood). Most of the newer devices being sold today can do just fine with thicker e-liquids (30PG/70VG; and even higher); so wicking is less of a concern than it has been in the past.
The other considerations are more a matter of personal preference:
VG is responsible for more visible vapor. This is important to people who like to blow large "clouds" of vapor. PG provides less visible vapor.This can be a consideration for those who are trying to be discrete.
VG is "smoother" than PG. PG (along with nicotine) is often attributed with having more "throat hit." Throat hit (or TH) is that kind of scratchy, mildly irritating, feeling one gets in the back of the throat and sinuses. Some equate this TH with similar sensations they got when smoking. Other, find it unpleasant, and prefer to avoid it.
VG provides greater density, to the vapor, than PG (hence the increased visibility). This can also be significant to a certain segment of smoker. I was a deep inhaler as a smoker. Part of finding
my vapor satisfaction, was finding a replacement, for that "dense, heavy" feeling in my chest. Getting a suitable device (a more airy, "direct-to-lung" device), and a higher VG e-liquid, is what did the trick for me.
So, I don't think a 50/50 is a bad choice; it will have a little less visible vapor, and a bit more throat hit, than a more commonly found (today) 30PG/70VG e-liquid. Honestly, in
my opinion, I think anything in between the two would be perfectly fine to start.
As long as you are buying from established brands, and it isn't labeled "made in Joe's garage," I think you are in fairly safe territory. Manufacturers, and resellers, have little to gain by selling inferior product. And, those that try it, quickly go out of business. Vaping is still very much a word-of-mouth dependent industry... get a bad rep; and you are history.
I would look for businesses that have been around for more than a year, offer both a street address, as well as phone number. Then search for reviews on line, at places like ECF ( and other vaping forums), Reddit, and YouTube. Finally, if you want to check the site's security, these free resources can be used:
Surcuri: Site Check
Qualys: SSL Server Test
Magento
You can read more about these on
this ECF thread. (Thanks,
@retired1 
)
Nope, had to have more visible clouds. We're all different, and you just gotta figure out you. I have friends that finish a smoke in about 5 minutes. I'd call those nic chasers, don't give a darn just need that nic. Others took ages to finish, I thought they were pondering life, how to end world hunger, or maybe enjoying the nuances of their cigarette. I was a time smoker. I KNEW from lighting to finishing, it was a solid 8 minutes and found my starting nic strength based on that.
