When you start vaping, it’s important that you spend some time choosing your first e-liquid.

The starting point of your choice will be what you like or what you need. Have you recently stopped smoking? Do you need a high nicotine content? Perhaps you’re looking for some specific flavors? Or you really want to make large vapor clouds? And maybe you really love raspberry flavors? All these questions will enable you to decide which e-liquid to choose. They actually rely on three main elements: the nicotine content, the PG (propylene glycol) / VG (vegetable glycerin) ratio and the aromas.

Nicotine content

If you used to smoke several cigarette packs a day, you’ll choose high nicotine contents, from 12 to 18mg/ml.
If you’re looking to reproduce the « throat hit », you’ll also need to choose high nicotine content.
Finally, if you don’t really know what to choose and you used to be an average smoker, start by a 12mg/ml nicotine content and adjust it based on your feelings.

The PG/VG content

If you’re looking for round and sweet e-liquids that enable you to make large vapor clouds, we suggest you to pick a high VG juice.
If you’re looking for more subtle e-liquids, you’ll probably prefer high PG juices.
Finally, if you’re clueless, the best is to take the most common ratio: 50% PG and 50% VG.

Flavors

In a world of infinite tastes, e-liquid manufacturers have been really creative! And you’ll most probably find the liquid that perfectly suits your taste. You’ll be able to choose between tobacco, menthol, fruity or dessert flavors. And what’s really important is that you find what’s best for you. The best way to do this will probably be to taste different juices.

Our last piece of advice: pay attention to the quality of the products. Even if regulations have really driven quality up, it’s always better to check the composition. Try to avoid as much as possible everything that is not a usual / classical ingredient. Any other element than propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavors, water and alcohol should be avoided.

E-liquids are available with different nicotine content, from 0 to 20 mg/ml. E-liquids without nicotine do not present more risks than other e-liquids. They are therefore less harmful than traditional tobacco cigarettes. And they’re also available in many different flavors, just as any other e-liquid.

If you want to try an e-liquid without nicotine and you’re already a vaper, you just need to pick your usual brand and e-liquid with a 0 nicotine content.

If you are a smoker and have just started vaping, we don’t advise you to try e-liquids without nicotine. Don’t be afraid of nicotine if you vape normally. It will enable your brain to experience past feelings, close to those of smoking, by favoring the throat hit. With this hit, nicotine will enable you to maximize your chances of definitely stopping to smoke. On the contrary, if you go directly to a nicotine content equal to 0, you’ll most certainly experience cravings that could bring you back to tobacco use. Nicotine is a key element in tobacco cessation because it’s a major influencer in the perception of vaping.

Some former smokers who have switched to vaping are looking to stop vaping. They are therefore little by little decreasing the nicotine content of their juices, until they reach 0.

Last attention point

When you are vaping liquids without nicotine, you may not feel the hit, which is strongly linked to nicotine. To recreate artificially the hit, you can vape menthol liquids. Or use a more powerful e-cigarette with a warmer vapor.

E-liquids are e-cigarettes’ consumables. You’ll need e-liquid to be able to vape. E-liquids are generally available in rechargeable 10ml bottles (for the UE) with different aromas and nicotine content.

E-liquids are made of 6 main components: vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, aromas, nicotine, water and alcohol. However, water and alcohol are not mandatory and their use is becoming more and more limited.

The base

80 to 90% of the e-liquid is made of 2 elements: vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). The split between those ingredients can change. VG and PG are food components that have the specificity of converting into vapor at a very low temperature. Vegetable glycerin is a thick liquid that will make the blend viscous. The more VG there is in the e-liquid, the bigger the vapor cloud. E-liquids with a high VG content will feel softer and rounder. But the e-liquid will be more viscous and therefore the devices will tend to clog more easily. Propylene Glycol will intensify the aroma taste and will increase the ‘hit’, sensation that is usually sought after by former smokers. The vapor generated by PG is fine and light.

Aromas

Food aromas generally represent 3 to 15% of the composition. Those aromas will bring savor to the e-liquid. The aromas can be synthetic or natural or possibly a combination of those two.

Nicotine

Nicotine is obtained through the extraction of tobacco leaves and their transformation in a liquid form. It is an alkaloid that will have a stimulant effect when used in low dose but is quickly eliminated. The use of nicotine in e-liquids is strictly supervised. The ‘hit’ is proportional to the nicotine content. Therefore, a higher nicotine content will create a better hit. The nicotine content in e-liquids is generally between 0 and 20mg/ml.

Alcohol and water

Ethyl alcohol may be used to homogenize and liquefy the blend. It will also intensify the action of propylene glycol and therefore improve the flavors of the product. We can also use demineralized water to fluidize the blend. Generally, water plus alcohol combined doesn’t exceed 5%.

Other components

We can find other components in e-liquids, such as diacetyl, propionyl acetyl, acetoine, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acroleine, etc. We do not recommend the use of such components.

Please also note that e-liquids have a ‘best before’ date. You’ll be able to keep your e-liquids for a 12-month period if it’s stored in a dark and cool place with a perfectly sealed cap. If you notice that the best before date is in the past, it’s not dangerous to vape the e-liquid. But flavors will certainly have faded a little bit.

Propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) are the two main components of an e-liquid. They constitute the base, 90% of the composition of an e-liquid.

You may have heard about the PG/VG ratio? This is simply the way these two components share the 90% we’ve just talked about. Generally speaking, we say that an e-liquid is xx% PG and yy% VG.

High VG juice

An e-liquid that has a high VG content will enable you to make large vapor clouds. Cloud chasers and tricks performers use it all around the world. Those are generally liquids that are sweeter, with a rounder taste. They can even somewhat hide the flavors when the VG is extremely high. VG is also a viscous liquid. The more VG you’ll have in your juice, the quicker your material will clog.

High PG juice

On the contrary, an e-liquid with a high PG content will have a finer vapor cloud that will dissipate quickly. But it will be a true flavor enhancer and will sublimate the aromas. It’s more liquid than VG and will not clog your material as much as the VG. The PG will also increase the throat hit, which is mainly brought by nicotine.

What’s actually really interesting is that the PG/VG ratio varies according to the country. In France for instance, the standard is around 70 to 80% PG. In the US, the UK or in China, consumers have very different habits and PG is usually lower than 50% and we even have 100% VG juices. But whatever your liking may be, don’t worry! E-liquid manufacturers generally have wide ranges of products with different compositions, flavors and PG/VG ratios.