The Ups and Downs of Nicotine – What Should You Know?
Posted on July 17, 2015 by VapeMeStoopid
During my 3 1/2 years as a vaper, the nicotine content of e-liquid has always been a point of contention among many vapers. Some people tell new switchers (smokers turning to e-cigs) that they should start on a low-level nicotine. Others, like me, will tell new vapers to start with a high milligram like 24 or even 36 milligram. What should we really be telling them though?
This is a hard one for me to talk about because I am not a scientist. I am not a professional anything so don’t take my words for medical advice but more like experienced advice.
Pretty much everything to do with vaping is subjective; from the device you use, to the ohms, battery size, best wire for coil and most importantly the e-liquid flavors you like. Ultimately the choices you make are going to be entirely up to you with the occasional influence from other vapers in the community.
If it works for you, then it is good enough.
When I first started my vaping journey in 2010 I was using 24mg nicotine and you know what? It was good enough.
The kit I was using, a 510 Joye, wasn’t. The cigalike was a 3 piece unit with a manual battery. The middle bit was the atomizer and the mouth tip was where the e-liquid went. Inside it was usually filled with some kind of fiber; rayon, blue foam, and yes even the tea bag paper (minus the tea!).
However I tried to jig it to work better, it simply didn’t. A month into vaping, I gave up.
When I revisited vaping in 2012, I ended up with a very similar unit. This time though, the mouth piece was actually a capsule, so there was no more foam to mess about with, just a fiddly little tank thing to try to get e-liquid into. I also opted for a 36mg nicotine e-liquid and I am glad that I did.
36 milligram nicotine e-liquid was able to kick my smoking habit right in the feels and I was able to make the switch literally, overnight.
The Subconscious Mind
Why did I go with higher nicotine? Well, for me it was because I have always had a fascination with the human brain and the way our bodies work. Science has always been a loved subject of mine, especially chemistry and physics.
The subconscious mind is also another favorite thing of mine to learn about. I attribute a lot of our “addiction” to smoking, to come solely from the subconscious parts of our brains.
One of the psychological views held by many in the profession is that our subconscious minds carry out practiced movements. When was the last time you were smoking that you actually had to THINK about moving your hand to your mouth, inhale, exhale, repeat? You probably can’t remember EVER thinking about it. I never thought about it until I switched to vaping. Even then, I never realized it was something to actually THINK about.
Unlike smoking, vaping forced me to recognize the way I was inhaling, how long to inhale, hold it, then exhale. I paid such close attention to the way I was inhaling that I tried different methods of doing it.
Slowly, drawing the vape into my mouth then into my lungs. Quick short direct to lung drags. Breathing out through my nose. I even paid attention to how I held my device and which way felt more comfortable. My conscious brain was retraining my subconscious to replace the 22 year routine of smoking to this new routine of vaping. Now? I barely think about how I inhale. Open airflows get direct to lung draws while kits with a tighter airflow are done mouth then to lung and it comes naturally. A split second for my conscious brain to recognize the type of kit I am using and then my subconscious part takes over and it is merely a fleeting thought anymore.
How does Nicotine play its part in this?
Our bodies are amazing biological machines. We know when we have had too much too eat, too much to drink, too much exercise, too many drugs.
The body is equipped with all kinds of bells and whistles that alert us in order to tell us we are reaching our limits or that we have gone too far. It does the exact same thing with nicotine.
Think back to when you first became a smoker. I recall it very vividly. I was 12 years old and the older girls in my neighborhood had been making fun of me for days for not smoking. They would goad me into stealing cigs from my dad’s packs when he was in the bathroom or asleep on the couch. In order to fit in, I took my very first drag. I coughed, I gagged, and they laughed which made me do it again. I was determined to show my older friends that I was just as tough and cool as them.
By the time I finished my first cigarette, I was no longer coughing, but my little body was telling me I had too much of everything. Too much smoke, my lungs hurt, too much nicotine, I was nauseas and dizzy. Did I listen? Of course not, I was determined to overcome all of these warnings to obtain my goal and that is exactly what I did.
When I switched to vaping, I understood from what little information I could find about it online, that starting with a higher nicotine would help relieve some of the cravings I might experience while making the switch. I can not stress how important this is to new vapers.
Dr. Farsalinos conducted a study that was published in February 2014 in which he states:
It is reasonable to assume that nicotine levels in EC liquids should be considerably higher in order to improve their effectiveness in nicotine delivery, which is expected to make them more successful as smoking substitutes.
From my understanding, this is because we absorb nicotine differently than when we did when we smoked. The same study linked above describes this in better detail. The gist of it is this though, it takes vapers longer for nicotine to appear in our plasma levels compared to smoking. Plasma nicotine levels were the same in the test group after 5 minutes of smoking a cigarette and 35 minutes after using a vaporizer.
This means it takes our brains an extra half hour to even get close to the same levels of we would get from smoking a cigarette.
Dropping in Nicotine and Why You Shouldn’t…yet
Based on the research above, by using higher milligram nicotine we are able to achieve levels similar to what we were used to when smoking. Using the higher nicotine helps us maintain those levels, therefore curbing potential cravings or urges we would associate with stopping smoking. Anyone who has tried quitting smoking will know exactly what I am talking about, the aggression, tiredness, irritability and the list goes on.
It has taken me 3 1/2 years to step down from 36mg to 6mg e-liquids. Every single time, I have noticed a significant increase in how many milliliters of e-liquid I have vaped in a day. A 10ml bottle of 24-36mg used to 2-3 days. At 6mg I am lucky if it lasts me a day.
I have a load of 3mg e-liquids that I got from Vaper Expo UK and the increase in consumption is unbelievable. I will be bumping all of my 3mg e-liquids back up to 6 and I am looking at having some 12 or 18mg on hand for my flight home in September.
Why is it a problem to drop nicotine and consume more e-liquid? You need to throw away the embedded thought we have about nicotine being bad for us. This is something that has been beat into our heads for years as smokers. Dr. Farsalinos has said that it is NOT the nicotine that is bad for us. So what about PG and VG plus the flavorings? In all reality, we simply do not know. There is a high possibility that many of our e-liquids contain harmful chemicals at levels much higher than what we would get from smoking. Some of those chemicals are KNOWN to cause irreversible damage to our lung cells. THIS is a problem that can be avoided, but it is up to us to decide what risks we are willing to take.
If your end goal is to completely remove nicotine from your life and eventually get to 0mg vaping or to stop vaping completely, then by all means, continue to drop your nicotine levels. However, it is my advice to you that you should monitor your e-liquid consumption levels while you are lowering your nicotine. If your consumption levels increase significantly (say doubles?) then maybe it is your body telling you that it is simply not ready to drop and that it can not cope with the reduced amount of nicotine.
Do NOT be afraid to increase your nicotine levels and PLEASE do not feel like a failure if you do. I have heard that a lot from vapers; apprehension at raising their nicotine levels as if they have failed miserably at something. They don’t want to let themselves down.
NO.
You have not failed. You are not letting yourself down You have already stopped smoking. THAT is a #winning moment in your life and you should be as proud of yourself as I am of you!
source: http://vapemestoopid.co/2015/07/the...shareaholic&utm_medium=reddit&utm_source=news
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