Juuls Wasn’t Real Vaping Anyway
In news that is sure to cast a shadow over high school toilets across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today ordered all Juul e-cigarettes currently sold to be removed from store shelves immediately. “The company should stop selling and distributing these products. In addition, those currently on the US market must be removed or enforcement action could be taken,” the FDA said in a statement .
If you are hopelessly addicted to the drug that Juul offers, consider this news a wake-up call: it’s time to quit nicotine. Just kidding – we both know it’s not happening. But this is the perfect time to move from e-cigarettes with cartridges or disposable e-cigarettes to real vaping.
Why vapers and smokers should switch to an open vaping system
While there are still competing e-cigarettes on the market, some of which have already received FDA approval , if you ask Michael Kohanoff, owner of Los Angeles-based Studio City Vapors, open vapes (devices that you fill yourself) offer significant advantages over disposables. or pod systems.
First, it’s cost. “The initial cost is a bit more because you have to buy the equipment,” Kohanoff explained, “but in the long run, you get a significant discount.”
According to vaping wizard Matt Taylor, clerk at Studio City Vapors, using a refillable vape can be up to 50% cheaper than using a closed system like Juul or Vuse. What’s more, according to Taylor, open vaping probably accounts for a quarter of the cost of smoking traditional non-electric cigarettes.
Besides being cheaper, having your own setup means making your own decisions about what you inhale. “You can also control the amount of nicotine in your juice and gradually reduce it,” Kohanoff said. “Besides, you only have a few flavors with something like Juul, not limitless [with open vaping].”
What is soaring?
Simply put, vaping is the use of an electronic device to inhale the vapor produced by heating a liquid mixture that typically contains flavoring, cooking oil, and nicotine. You can do this either with completely disposable e-cigarettes, pod-based “closed” systems, or by filling your own heating element with whatever juice or nicotine salts you like.
If you are just starting out, the number of vape devices and options can be intimidating. Culturally, we haven’t even decided on the name of the device that creates the “steam” of vaping – is it an electronic cigarette? tank? Box mod? Vape kit? I’ll call it a mod, but whatever you want to call it, it’s just a box that contains a heating element and some batteries, an attached fluid reservoir, and a mouthpiece to draw in that sweet, sweet vapor.
Bullying vape culture
Vaping is weird. There is a whole subculture of people who mod vape boxes insanely, pay special attention to resistance and amperage, or try to blow the biggest, most artistic clouds of smoke, usually with goofy-looking beards. They have contests !
Your local vape shop is probably full of esoteric, unidentifiable devices and hundreds of small e-liquid bottles with weird names like “Jam Monster” and “Planet Whoa”. But don’t let the weird subculture surrounding vaping fool you. All you do is buy a device that vaporizes liquid so you can inhale the drug you like in a (probably) less harmful way.
How to choose your first vaping device
At the most basic level, you will need two things to start your new vaping career: an e-cigarette rig and something to fill it with. It’s possible to walk out of a vape shop with a complete system for under $30, but I think stepping up from the “cheapest option” is the best move, even for beginners.
A starter kit like the SMOK X-PRIV 225W Starter Kit will set you back around $50. It’s not too difficult, so you should be able to figure everything out right away, but as you get more “experienced” with vaping, you can tweak the power settings to improve your experience. Also, if you find you need a larger tank or a different mouthpiece in the future, you can easily swap them out.
The downside to this style of vaping is that they are large – about the size of a pack of cigarettes. If you want to look slimmer, there are more discreet options. Vaporesso has a line of “pod mods” that look very stylish and are inexpensive, and there are plenty of pen- style systems. I started with the pen system and thought it was great until I tried something more powerful. This is the main disadvantage of small rigs: they usually have a single battery, so they won’t stay charged as long or have the same power as a dual battery mod.
The difference between e-juice and nicotine salts
Nicotine salts are a new addition to the world of vaping and are designed to provide higher concentrations of nicotine to users. They provide a hit that is closer to a cigarette than traditional e-liquid. Personally, I prefer the colder delivery of nicotine in regular juice over nickel salt, but you may feel different. Many vape systems allow you to use either nicotine salts or “regular” e-juice, but each burns at different power levels, so make sure your machine’s settings match your chosen substance.
Choosing the right vape juice or nicotine salts for you
There are hundreds if not thousands of brands of vape juice and nickel salt on the market. They range from complex, multi-toned flavors to simple, even tasteless juices, so choosing your favorite drink ultimately comes down to personal taste. I love Naked Berry, the combination of berries and menthol, and I hate the sweet/candy flavor. Many vape shops will let you try different juices to help you make your choice.
For safety reasons, vape shop owner Michael Kohanoff recommends sticking to well-known, established brands such as Beard Vape Co. or Glas Basix, and avoid cheap juices imported from China and anything that is mixed “at home” at the local store. “All the juices we sell are made in the United States and are made in laboratories,” he explained.
Vape juices come in a variety of strengths, from 0% nicotine to 24mg/mL, although standard juice concentrations are 0mg, 3mg, 6mg, and 24mg. Nickel salts are typically in the 25mg to 50mg range, although weaker versions are available. I started in the middle with 6mg of vape juice and three years later I am still using that power. Ultimately, it’s trial and error.
let’s take a steam bath
Now that you have your rig and vape/salt in hand, it’s time to try it out. How you actually fill your tank and manage your box depends on your device, so check out the manual. But what you usually do is pour juice into a reservoir, start it up with the push of a button, and then inhale that sweet vapor.
If you’re used to smoking “real” cigarettes, it may take some time for you to get used to vaping, especially if you’re using juice instead of salt. For me, vaping is a much more enjoyable experience than smoking tobacco. Cigarettes tend to release massive amounts of nicotine at you all at once, while vaping is a more civilized drug experience where you take in less nicotine over time.
Basic vape maintenance: cleaning, coils and batteries
For optimal vaping enjoyment, you need to clean your gear from time to time. I usually bathe mine about once every two weeks or when I change coils. Most mods are meant to be taken apart, and you can clean them by taking the components apart, soaking them in alcohol, and then letting them dry. The specifics, again, will depend on your machine.
Along with cleaning, you sometimes need to change the coils, the element that actually heats the fluid. In fact, this is a thin wire wound on a cotton wick. The juice is drawn into the wick, and the wire heats up and evaporates the liquid. You should put in a new coil every two weeks or so, or if you get a burnt or dry taste while vaping.
Vape devices are usually powered by rechargeable lithium batteries of various capacities and sizes. Your device must come with a charging cable, or you can use a dedicated charger. Which batteries will work with your device, again, depends on the device. While vape boxes are probably no more dangerous than a laptop, any device that uses lithium-ion batteries has the potential to pose a fire hazard , so take the manufacturer’s safety information seriously.