When is it time to switch to lower nicotine ?

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gpjoe

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Do whatever works as long as you aren't getting sick from it.

I've been vaping for over four years and still sub-ohm at 6mg nic. It's funny because a lot of times I'll ask for 6mg at the local B&M and they look at me like I'm from another planet, then say: "all we have in that line is 3mg".

Whatever. That's why I have 100mg nic in my stash.

When using my pod-mods I usually go MUCH higher - like 24 or 36mg. In fact the closest thing I have found to having the satisfaction of an actual cigarette is unflavored 36mg WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids) in a MyJet. It's expensive but it does satisfy in small doses.
 

Opinionated

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You're just using twice as much juice to get the same amount of nicotine is all.

Not necessarily. My son vapes 24 - 36 mg when he's mtl, but when he sub ohms he can't do more than 6mg.. something in the diff between dl and mtl, although quantity is part of it, it is not the whole.
 

mattiem

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NB: doing sub 0hm doubles you're nicotine intake (or so i've heard) so intead of doing 6mg i'm actually doing 12mg lolz.

You're just using twice as much juice to get the same amount of nicotine is all.

Meh still less expensive than smoking for me so it's all okay in the end lolz
I could be wrong but I think @tj99959 was just correcting what seems to be a misconception. High watt low ohm vaping doesn't actually change the strength of the e-liquid so you are still vaping 6mg. For some folks it takes high watt low ohm direct to lung vaping to be satisfied though. Isn't it great that there is something for everyone. The hard part seems to be finding what works best for each of us.
 

QcVaper

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I could be wrong but I think @tj99959 was just correcting what seems to be a misconception. High watt low ohm vaping doesn't actually change the strength of the e-liquid so you are still vaping 6mg. For some folks it takes high watt low ohm direct to lung vaping to be satisfied though. Isn't it great that there is something for everyone. The hard part seems to be finding what works best for each of us.
Oh no worries i didn't mean it harshly either, to me dosen't matter the cost and i appreciated the correction :p
And yes it's awesome that there's something for everyone out there ! :D
 

Grimwald

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I started on a cigalike and cartos 5 years ago at 24mg. After a couple of months I started getting woozy, anxiety, general headless chicken syndrome. That's when I knew.

I cut back by units of 3mg every 6 months or so, but my body told me when it was time. If I got too many cravings, I went back up.

Later, when I got down to 3-4mg, I started cutting back by 1/2mg every few months.

A lot of this occurred as my equipment got more powerful.
 

mattiem

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Interesting discussion, I'm down from 18 mg to 3 mg in about 9 months time. With dual SS coils in a big baby beast .40 ohms total I'm not sure where I would be as far as nicotine intake.
multiply your nic strength (3mg in your case) by the number of mls you go through daily and you will know how much nicotine you vape daily.

In my case I vape 12 mg and vape about 3 mls daily so my nicotine intake is about 36 mg per day.
 

stols001

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Keep in mind, not all of that is absorbed, though. Not all nic is absorbed through smoking, either, but if my memory is correct, vaping has a lower rate of absorption than smoking, so don't be alarmed folks, at some of the numbers you get... :)

Though, I'm pretty sure, even at my nic strength, that compared to 3 ppd I am absorbing far less nicotine than when I was smoking, and I'm quite fine with that. I go through about 1.5--2 tanks (6 ml daily, more or less) of 18% nic e-juice....

Upcoming week is probably going to be my week to try lowering my nic a bit, to see how it goes.... Provided I don't encounter any horrific cravings over the rest of the week....

Anna
 

RainSong

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The leaving the house repeatedly while forgetting my vape and not missing it took me a year, but every one is different.
I'm just now around a year in and starting to get to this point. I've forgotten a mod at home and just gone on about my errands a few times. I don't always carry a backup either, if I wasn't planning to be out long.

For the OP, I wouldn't worry too much about dropping yet as long as whatever you are doing is keeping you from smoking but there's no harm in experimentation. Get some lower nic juice and see how you feel. Make sure you also have some higher to fall back on if you need it. I started out at 6 on a subohm device and just stuck with it when I moved to higher resistance. Hubby uses 9-12 and I don't have a problem with that level either, but I think flavor is better at 6. Like others have said, nicotine is not the enemy, combustion is.
 

Tonee N

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I started at 10mg and worked my way down to 1mg for a day went back up to 6mg for a year then finally settled on 3mg. I think I use it about the same as the 6mg but I switch between devices, drippers, and flavors throughout my day so I think I am actually using less but I don't really keep count.

Sent from the future
 

snork

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I have vaped 24mg for more than 6 years, most around 1 ohm, 4ish ml per day. For a short time I succumbed to the notion I should drop it, went crazy when I did, and went back up. I don't worry about my nicotine or vaping in general at all, I feel great and my doctor says I ought to.
 
I dropped from 9 down to 6, then down to 3 in a couple of weeks (with the MTL's), I think I was more habit over hooked (40 Camels a day though) but for me that's what caught me with the vaping, I just love puffing, so once I sussed DLI, that's me now Xbox and out of work, crikey I just love it. My partner on the other hand though, quit at same time, only does MTL and is still on 9 and not ready to drop. All but one of my DLI flavors are nic free. So I guess it just depends and only you'll know, and like everything probably no point pushing it, just roll with whatever's working and that will be best for you. I just can't believe dropping cigs was that easy with Vape, wish I'd cottoned onto it years ago but I think they only just becoming popular in NZ now, don't think you could buy stuff for it last year.
 

Carl2

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The method to calculate the nicotine vaporized is a nice simple method to give a rough approximation. I agree that the amount absorbed would differ. I'm a bit of a flavor chaser and had noticed I was taking long vapes, this resulted in my breath containing vapor 5 or 6 puffs after a vape and I felt I was inhaling to much. I played with adjusting temp and preheat to get as much flavor without excessively long vape. As far as I know there is nothing wrong with the nicotine but is additive, people have begun using nicotine salts to get more effects from the nicotine.
 
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mattiem

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As far as I know there is nothing wrong with the nicotine but is additive, people have begun using nicotine salts to get more effects from the nicotine.
Yep, we have been told that for so long we now think it is true.

To a smoker, maybe. To a never smoker, the jury is still out but studies are showing that nicotine without smoking it is not addictive. I think time will prove this true. I believe never smokers that start vaping, even with nicotine, will have little to no problem quitting any time they choose to do so. Only time will prove this true or false.

If it were just the nicotine smokers were craving then every smoker should be able to quit with any of the OTC offerings or easily with vaping. That alone tells me that it is not the nicotine but is the combinations of 1000's of ingredients, in the proper proportions to keep us hooked, mixed together, rolled in a tube of paper and set on fire.

As always, just my humble opinion.....
 

stols001

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It's true that never-smokers probably don't find nicotine by itself so addictive.... I mean, they have done studies where never-smokers try nicotine alone, and they can quit. Hand to mouth, for some reason, is huge! I remember a professor in college who always had a straw with him. He'd inhale it, chew on it, fiddle with it, and proudly would announce that it was his quitting smoking aid, and he'd been quit for like 17 years or something. With that said, given that nicotine is a PART of cigarette smoking, it's nice to be able to have nic and the inhalation effect, both of which are relatively benign compared to smoking itself. Being on the patch for 12 weeks as a never smoker is a totally different experience in almost every way.

I'm not sure I agree about nic salts. I use them for lack of throat hit, and I'm going to reduce my nicotine next week. I found I don't vape them any MORE than regular nicotine, even if they are slightly more bioavailable. I can go between storebought regular nic just as easily as my DIY nic-salts. I know that I will get nicotine satisfaction if I'm vaping, and that helps me, period. I'm not loading up on 50 m.g. of nicsalts in my juices, let me put it that way.... I vape the exact same quantities and nic levels as regular nicotine.... Which is why I feel okay in using them.

I'd bet any money that if the nic fairies came in an lowered all my nic by 2 mg/ml, I wouldn't even *notice* probably. I have a feeling I will be able to lower my nic without too much effort, though this will be my first reduction, so I'm going to have to see....

If I ever get to 0, fine, but I'm not worried if I don't, and the risks of nicotine use (while real) can't possibly be worse than combustion.... I doubt I'll get to 0, and even at the level I'm at, I'm fine with it.... :)

Anna
 

Caterpiller

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I find it worrying that people are readily stating that nicotine via vaping is unlikely to lead to addiction.

BT had always denied that smoking is physically addictive, and have funded countless scientific studies that have stated the same.

From my personal perspective, having smoked a pack a day for over 25 years, I don't believe I was physically addicted for the first 4 years, but later and until this day I have an extremely strong addiction to nicotine.

Vaping had been fantastic for me. It's enabled me to give up cigarettes completely, but I have no elusions, I remain physically addicted to nicotine.

I believe over time and with some effort I may be able to reduce my nicotine intake through vaping, and possibly quit nicotine all together, but I would never suggest that vaping nicotine laced e Liquid cannot lead a never-smoker to a life long addiction to nicotine.
 

stols001

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I don't think I stated that. I stated that never-smokers on the patch did not have high rates of addiction to the patch. :) I also pointed out that the hand to mouth thing is a big deal, as well, whether it's vaping, a straw, or whatever.

I do actually think the combination of nicotine and hand-to-mouth vaping *for smokers* is rather powerful. I have NEVER suggested to a never smoker wandering across this board that starting vaping would be a good idea an usually suggest they don't do it. The patch is quite a different animal than vaping which has: hand-to-mouth, flavors, inhalation, and nicotine, itself a quite potent combination... I am suggesting that for smokers, vaping may be more appealing and a better harm reduction device, that may enable them to lower their nicotine over time, not that never-smokers should take up vaping. I don't see a lot of encouragement of that on this forum.

If I was unclear, I apologize. :)

Anna
 

mattiem

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I find it worrying that people are readily stating that nicotine via vaping is unlikely to lead to addiction.

BT had always denied that smoking is physically addictive, and have funded countless scientific studies that have stated the same.

From my personal perspective, having smoked a pack a day for over 25 years, I don't believe I was physically addicted for the first 4 years, but later and until this day I have an extremely strong addiction to nicotine.

Vaping had been fantastic for me. It's enabled me to give up cigarettes completely, but I have no elusions, I remain physically addicted to nicotine.

I believe over time and with some effort I may be able to reduce my nicotine intake through vaping, and possibly quit nicotine all together, but I would never suggest that vaping nicotine laced e Liquid cannot lead a never-smoker to a life long addiction to nicotine.
Thus my statement "Only time will prove this true or false."

We are doing a disservice to all things if we base them on the fact that BT lied to us. The studies done on nicotine were done to see what the medicinal properties may prove to be. They were not conducted by a tobacco company although they were conducted by a pharmaceutical company and in most cases I trust them even less than I trust BT. :facepalm:

I do agree with stols001 about the hand to mouth action. I can see that becoming a habit over time. And like her, I would never suggest a never smoker take up nicotine but it is going to happen just like new smokers are born every day. I hope they take up vaping instead.
 
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