Should you make the switch? YES! The world of Electronic Cigarettes may seem confusion, and maybe that’s why you haven’t jumped right in.
In this comprehensive guide you’ll get a complete overview of everything you need to know to choose the correct Electronic Cigarette for you, and to finally make the switch to the healthier alternative.
Many scientists believe that electronic cigarettes are vastly safer than tobacco cigarettes – in fact Professor Carl Phillips has argued that the benefits of switching to E-Cigarettes are almost identical to those of quitting.
99% of the problem with smoking tobacco cigarettes is NOT the nicotine, it’s the combustion. When you burn tobacco, you create thousands of chemicals, carcinogens and tar. In contrast, Electronic Cigarettes do not burn tobacco, it turns a liquid (called E-Liquid) into a vapor which may or may not contain nicotine. While we have yet to identify all the chemicals in cigarette smoke, we know exactly what’s in e-liquid.
For more information on the truths of E-Cigarettes read our article: The Truths vs Scares of E-Cigs
Side Effects
While usually perfectly safe, the proplyene glycol (PG) in Electronic Cigarettes can cause dryness of the throat and sore throats. In addition, a small percentage of people are allergic to PG.
For more information on PG read our article: What is PG? and PG Allergies and Side Effects
For more information on VG read our article: What is VG? and VG Allergies and Side Effects
At times, allergic symptoms may be confused with the effects of quitting smoking. Quit smoking symptoms can include:
• Mouth Ulcers
• Coughing
• Chest Pains
• Respiratory Problems
• Mood Swings
The E-Cig, short for Electronic Cigarette, is a device that is battery powered to produce inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a vaporized solution. It makes use of a rechargable battery that powers a heating element (coil). The E-Liquid comes in contact with the coil and is then vaporized.
An Electronic Cigarette is quite simple in design, but there are multiple parts that can make up or be used with the Electronic Cigarette.
Below are the basic parts that make up a complete Electronic Cigarette. Some van be replaced with other style parts.
• Tube (or Box): The tube is the housing to the E-Cig (Electronic Cigarette). Some tubes come in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate certain battery sizes and internal electronics. The tube part of the device is typically the bottom part of the Electronic Cigarette.
• Battery: The battery comes in many shapes, but the typical battery is similar to an AA battery styling and varies in specific sizes. (See our article: E-Cig Battery Breakdown)
• Power Button (Manual or Automatic): The power button is what activates the battery, which then delivers power to the heating element (atomizer or cartomizer). Some buttons have multiple use functions. The button is considered as a ‘manual” E-Cig. An ‘automatic’ E-Cig has no button and is activated by a sensor that detects when you’re pulling vapor from the device. Many E-Cigarette users (or vapers) tend to like a manual E-Cigarette more because an automatic E-Cig can be triggered to activated at times when not in use, which depletes the battery life.
• Connector: The connector is a part that sits at the top of the Electronic Cigarette and is used to accept the atomizer (or cartomizer). The connector has female (or male) threading. The connector will range in various styles such as 510 (the most common), 801 and 901 just to name a few.
• Atomizer (or Cartomizer): The atomizer is a small metal tubed casing that has a male (or female) threading at the bottom to be attached to an Electronic Cigarette. The top of the atomizer is an opening to allow the use of E-Liquid. To fill an atomizer, the user will typically drip 2 to 3 drops onto the coil (which sites inside and on the bottom of the metal atomizer tubing). The cartomizer is much like the atomizer, except that the metal tubing is a bit longer. Inside the metal tubing of a cartomizer is a filler material. This filler material acts as a wicking system. To fill a cartomizer with E-Liquid, the user will our E-Liquid onto the filler material until it has a full or soggy look. A cartomizer is also used inside a tank system.
• Tank System: The tank system is designed to hold more e-liquid than the typical cartomizer. The tank is a tube that is usually made from a plastic material. At the top and bottom of the plastic tube tank is end caps. The end caps usually have rubber gromets as a sealer between the caps and the plastic tubing. In the middle of the caps is a hole cut out to accept the cartomizer. Some tank systems makes use of its own wicking system instead of a cartomizer.
• Drip Tip: A drip tip is the mouth piece that will sit on top of the atomizer or cartomizer. The metal tube casing on an atomizer or cartomizer can sometimes become hot to the touch, so a drip tip is used so your lip do not come in contact with the atomizer or cartomizer casing. A drip tip was also designed so that you could easily drip e-liquid into your atomizer without taking off the mouth piece. This is done by pouring your drops of e-liquid into the center hole of the drip tip.
E-Liquid (or E-Juice) is the liquid that is used to vaporize. E-Liquid typically contains Vegetable Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Nicotine and Flavoring.
The user can generally custom order your e-liquid by requesting a certain VG (Vegetable Glycerin) percentage and PG (Propylene Glycol) percentage. The user can also request a certain nicotine strength. The common nicotine strengths are from 0mg to 24mg. It is said to be safer to not exceed 24mg of nicotine and most electronic cigarette vendors will not offer more than that amount either.
To learn more about choosing the right nicotine strength E-Liquid read our article: How To Choose Your Nicotine Strength
Using electronic cigarettes and understanding how to vape is pretty simple. Although it requires more action than the traditional tobacco cigarette, it is far less harmful. Once you grasp what it takes to use an electronic cigarette (which consists of a charged battery and a cartomizer/atomizer/tank filled with e-liquid), here’s some useful tips on how to vape.
• For your first time inhaling vapor, it’s a lot different to your lungs and it doesn’t recognize it. Your lungs are used to tobacco smoke, which is completely different than vapor. With a traditional cigarette, you pull hard to get smoke, but with vaping – you’ll pull slow and steady. Remember, liquid is inside your atomizer/cartomizer, so you don’t want to pull hard enough to suck that liquid into your mouth.
• When you inhale vapor, the longer you hold it in your mouth, the less vapor you’ll blow out.
• Remember, this is about you… so find your own style of vaping and what feels most comfortable to you.
To get started with vaping, you’ll need the following:
• A battery (if using a modified type device, you’ll need a tube and battery)
• An atomizer or type of cartomizer
• A mouth piece
• A charger
• Some E-Liquid
Usually vendors offer starter kits that come with everything you need to start vaping. Some offer e-liquid with the kit and for those who don’t, just order you a bottle of e-liquid that interests you. The best starter kit to buy is an eGo brand kit. If you can shell out a few more bucks, get yourself a eGo-C Twist kit.
To find an E-Cigarette vendor in your area see our Vape Store Directory
The only setbacks to just starting to vape is having to learn about e-cigarettes.
Although that isn’t much of a setback, it can be a little confusing to some at times. The other setback is finding the right e-liquid for you. When you first start ordering e-liquid, try to find sample packs. Many vendors will offer a sample pack of small bottles in assorted flavors for you to try. Finding the right e-liquid can be a hassle sometimes and can make you feel like there’s a hole in your pocket, but once you find the right flavor, it’ll be a breeze from then on. Never settle for a bad tasting e-liquid. We have many vendors that have tons of different flavors that will suit your taste buds. China made e-liquid is much cheaper than the rest, but many avoid it because the flavors aren’t that great. USA made e-liquid has a much more quality taste in flavor and feel.
When you first make the switch from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, you’ll notice many changes that are good.
Some vapers have said that they could breathe better, get less winded, no more terrible coughs and another that I’ve heard from many – notice an improved better immune system. However, there are some things to expect that come with removing yourself from the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco cigarettes. Here are a few of those that we’ve heard of or experienced. (This doesn’t necessarily mean that this will happen to you.)
• Headaches
• Cold Sweats
• Coughing
• Chest Pains
Many vendors are in this market to help you, while others are out just to make a buck or trick you. Here’s a few tips that will help you not get tricked.
• Don’t Fall For Free Trials: You’ll see many ads or receive emails that will offer you a free trial e-cig. Do not fall for this trick. To get the free trial, they’ll ask you to give you a credit card number, but they won’t charge you. After that, they’ll bill you and charge you quite a bit for a horrible product.
• Don’t Buy From Gas Stations: Do not buy an electronic cigarette from a gas station. The e-cig you’ll get is horrible and the worst on the market. The disposable e-cigs claim to last 24 hours, but they don’t and for most smokers, it won’t satisfy them.
• Don’t Be Fooled By Kiosk Pricing: Many kiosks are over-charging people for products. Don’t be fooled by the nice products, because they come with a high price. Purchase from local vape shops or online vape shops. Feel free to click one of the ads to vape shops here on GTV. All of our advertised vendors have great pricing and quality products.