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Is vapor more important than nicotine?

VapeRN

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TL;DR: high quality vapor is more important than nicotine. Discuss.

Wall of text to follow, bear with me. I feel like rambling after my second cup of coffee.

This is my second go at vaping, and I'm going to posit a theory- Vapor quality is more important than nicotine to smoking cessation.

My wife and I have been regular smokers for over 15 years. She smoked about 1ppd and I about 1/2 ppd of Camel Lights. We tried vaping in 2012 using ego-c kits and were successful for about a year. We started at 24mg nicotine in those CE style clearos and rapidly titrated down to 6mg in about 6 months. Towards the end of that first year of vaping, and switching to EVOD devices, she began sneaking analogs and I soon joined her. The devices were always breaking, leaking, giving off putting flavors, and were generally weak in design and performance. Instead of upgrading, smoking was the easy fix.

Fast forward to Sept 1, 2015. We have been smoking again for about 2 years and decide to wander into the new vape shop recently built in our neighborhood. An array of subohm gear is now in the case, and after trying some out we walk out with 2 Kanger Subox starter kits and some 6mg juice.

After I walk out the door with that kit I'm immediately done with smoking. I have zero desire to smoke. The vapor production from this tank is light years ahead of the old clearos we started on. In fact, two days later I go back and buy 3mg juice, because the 6mg is too much. Just off the 0.5ohm coils, the lung filling vapor and excellent flavor is very satisfying.

Fast forward a month. Still off analogs. I'm now using an RDA mostly at home and a TFV4 at work on a Sigelei 150TC. She's using a Zephyrus RTA on her K-box mini - both of us have increased the amount of vapor we intake, but are still at 3mg nicotine. We've both never been happier with vaping then we are right now. (Clouds, bro.)

It would seem that finding a high quality vapor experience was paramount to this fast acclimation. My question is, do you believe quality vapor is more important than nicotine in successful conversion? If so, why are so many vapers still setting up newbies with crappy equipment?


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Bacong

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this is probably correct. the quality of the gear and juice available is only getting better every day. look at how far we are from two years ago. subohm vaping for under 80 bucks with the subox mini? readily available, quality juice for great prices (120ml bottles for 20-30 are easy to find) and with the B&M stores outpacing McDonald's and Starbucks in building quickness, it's a whole new game now.
 

ej1024

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Vaping is subjective!
That's the rule of vaping
You start from the bottom then you go from there, u and the wife are a perfect example!
VAPOR OR NICOTINE?
only the NEW VAPER CAN ANSWER THAT.
Not all VAPERS were smokers!!
For me as a light smoker NICOTINE/VAPER.
Started with ego 24mg5 years later 3mg 65-80 watts 100% dripper!! my co worker wasn't a smoker at all but end up VAPING because he's addicted to ENERGY DRINKS! Don't ask me WHY? I asked him the same question


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smacksy

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Well for me I vape to avoid smoking, so the nicotene delivery is far more important than chasing clouds (vapor)..getting my acquired nicotene addiction satisfied is why I chose to vape it the first place...but these days I get both..lol

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Bacong

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Well for me I vape to avoid smoking, so the nicotene delivery is far more important than chasing clouds (vapor)..getting my acquired nicotene addiction satisfied is why I chose to vape it the first place...but these days I get both..lol

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I think this is what OP means, though. Think about it. Better quality equipment = quality vapor production = more nicotine. It's not more important than the nicotine itself, but I think a better thesis title than "Vapor is more important than nicotine" would be "A High Quality Vaping Experience is Necessary for Continued Smoking Cessation" or something.
 

smacksy

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I think this is what OP means, though. Think about it. Better quality equipment = quality vapor production = more nicotine. It's not more important than the nicotine itself, but I think a better thesis title than "Vapor is more important than nicotine" would be "A High Quality Vaping Experience is Necessary for Continued Smoking Cessation" or something.
Yeah, sometimes it's hard to follow up with a good reply when the question is not fully understood...but no big deal, I'm used to it, lol

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ej1024

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Yeah, sometimes it's hard to follow up with a good reply when the question is not fully understood...but no big deal, I'm used to it, lol

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LOL, NEWBIE QUESTIONS!


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AmandaD

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I smoked for 40 years and my first experience many, many years ago was one of the early ecigs. That didn't work. Some years later I picked up a cheap throwaway ecig and have never wanted a real cigarette since. It was about the nicotine delivery for me to start. Subohming gives much more effective nicotine delivery and of course the clouds, but without the nicotine I doubt (actually I'm sure) I would have gone back to smoking.

Most of us that smoked for a long period of time do use nicotine, even if it's only 3mgs. I'm fully aware that I would take a big risk going to zero nic. All it would take would be one weak moment with zero nic and be around smokers. Ingrained habit of a lifetime!
 
I've thought about the same question but haven't purchased 0mg yet. But I'd bet I'm getting less nicotine than I did when I smoked. But no data to back that up. I'm primarily on 3mg with an Atlantis - 0.5 or 0.3 ohm.

On a related note, I had a nicotine test done at work a couple weeks ago and tested positive for nicotine. I would have bet I would have showed up clear - as an assumption. So I am getting some level, but the bigger clouds vs my Nautilus is very satisfying, physically.


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Bacong

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why would you think you'd show up clean for nicotine when you vape it?
 

guyakaguy

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I think this is what OP means, though. Think about it. Better quality equipment = quality vapor production = more nicotine. It's not more important than the nicotine itself, but I think a better thesis title than "Vapor is more important than nicotine" would be "A High Quality Vaping Experience is Necessary for Continued Smoking Cessation" or something.
Exactly!

It really is subjective, but I screwed around for 2 1/2 years with the Egos and first the ViviNovas and their clones, the single-coil and then dual-coil evods and their clones, and then last year the mini Protank. The Protank was the best of all of them, but it was still lacking for me.

It was all just sort of a crutch if you will, a way to kind of "have another cigarette" indoors. When I fully committed to it I could hold off longer between cigarettes and sometimes even reduced the amount I was smoking, but it was never more than a week and I was right back on a pack a day again like the ego/Protank never existed. It just wasn't doing it for me. 6, 12, 18, 24mg nicotine, it didn't matter because it was like playing with a toy that let you pretend to kind of smoke.

Then I got a Subox mini/subtank kit and that's when things changed. I've been at it two weeks now, I've even gone to places like the casino where I would typically chain-smoke and had no desire to have a cigarette. None.

That wouldn't have been the case with the ego.

So yes, in my opinion and experience solid vapor production (and taste) are very important. I also agree that with solid equipment comes solid vapor, which also goes hand-in-hand with your nicotine delivery. A setup that delivers great vapor (clouds) and taste with 6mg nicotine or less has been exponentially more satisfying than chain-vaping 24mg out of an ego/Protank 'til my eyes are bulging.

I realize that it's subjective and "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks", but if I had a vapor shop I'd stock limited ego-style products (enough to get those people by) and recommending/selling new vapers, especially those trying to quit cigs, any one of these amazing new generation of regulated sub-ohm boxes. Things have come a long way in vaping over the last 2-3 years, but if I would've put that first $100 toward a sub-ohm setup instead of wasting it on an ego vision and ViviNova tank, and the subsequent $80 on other tanks looking for something better, and then the $80 I spent on another vision and a Protank; if I would've just taken that $260+ (not factoring in the additional $240 I spent every month on cigarettes over the first 2 1/2 years of vaping) and got a sub-ohm setup right off the bat I'd be so much further ahead right now.

$7500 would buy a HELL of a lot of top-notch vaping gear (not to mention probably a new car too...)

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PuffPuffPass

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......

On a related note, I had a nicotine test done at work a couple weeks ago and tested positive for nicotine. I would have bet I would have showed up clear - as an assumption. So I am getting some level, but the bigger clouds vs my Nautilus is very satisfying, physically.


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Not all test are the same. Many look for a urinary by product of nicotine use. Not the actual Nic.

And, the zero Nic issue. Easy to address :)

I always keep 0mg juice with me. I'm a chain vapor, so I just squeeze some zero in my tank if I start feeling the effects of too much Nic. That's how I transitioned from 24 - 3 in relatively short time.

I think that last move, to straight 0mg is going to be the hardest though :/
 

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