What You Need To Know About Vaping With Nic Salts

There are fundamental factors that you have to consider if you’re a smoker who’s switching to vaping. As a newbie vaper, you first have to determine your nicotine strength.

Apparently, you’ll have to know what the right strength of nicotine is that you need, and that’s for plenty of reasons. For one thing, it has to be just the correct amount to ward off your cigarette cravings. On the other hand, you will not want it to be too strong, or else it will be too harsh and cause you to feel lightheaded.

Typically, smokers who switch to vaping require high levels of nicotine from 18mg to 20mg. Many of them use freebase nicotine, but this substance carries with it a few issues. The higher the dose that you take of it, the harsher it feels, especially on your throat. Aside from this, its peppery taste also gets in the way of your savouring the flavour of your e-liquid.

When nicotine salts were introduced in recent years, improvements in the vaping experience took place. It allowed vapers to enjoy vaping even when they utilize high nicotine levels.

It used to be that nicotine salts were predominantly used in closed pod kits. However, upgrades occurred wherein they became widely accessible in 10ml bottles of a variety of strengths and flavours.

What Are Nicotine Salts?

Nicotine salts are called nic salts for short, and it’s what you get if you take freebase nicotine and benzoic acid.

Freebase nicotine is quite alkaline, with a pH of 9. When you refer to neutral pH, that’s 7. If you go on either side lower or higher of this neutral standard, your nicotine would end up to be either acidic or basic. It will result to a more obvious flavour and throat hit.

What nic salts do is aid in neutralising the pH of freebase nicotine. Taking something that has a higher pH (basic) and then add an acid, the result will be a counteracting and balancing of these two substances. What would come out is a chemical that has a neutral pH with throat hits that are more gentle, and a flavour that is benign as well.

On a molecular level, nicotine salts are deemed to be stable compared to freebase nicotine. This means you can keep or store nic salts for a longer time and they will not break down or oxidise.

Consider this. When you extract nicotine from the tobacco plant, it is exactly in the same form as nicotine salts. Their chemical composition is nonetheless slightly different, that’s why they are absorbed by the body differently, too.

How Are Nicotine Salts Different From Freebase Nicotine?

They are absorbed by the body differently

Being fast-acting, the body can absorb nic salts in as fast as 6 seconds. Essentially, they are designed to deliver the same nicotine rush that is obtained from smoking cigarettes. Nicotine salts are absorbed by the body quickly, and leave your system quickly.

With just a few puffs of nic salts, you get to satiate your nicotine cravings, unlike with freebase nicotine. It takes a bit longer for freebase nicotine to hit your system, and eventually, it builds up. Freebase nicotine peaks slower, and leaves your system slower.

If you’re an ex-smoker, it’ll be more apt for you to vape nicotine salts because they give instant nicotine fixes that freebase nicotine cannot.

They deliver throat hits and flavours differently

Freebase e-liquids in high doses affect the flavour that you get from your e-juice. It is because of their peppery taste that also results to harsher throat hits. Nic salts, conversely, with their neutral pH offers softer throat hits even when vaped at high levels, and likewise does not interfere with the flavour of your e-juice. 

For comparison, so that you can get the idea- 3mg of freebase nicotine brings about the same throat hit as 20mg of nicotine salts.

It is befitting to use nic salts with low-powered mouth to lung kits because they vapourise at low temperature. Generally, high-strength e-liquids are comprised of 50:50 PG to VG ratio. 

Adding benzoic acid to freebase nicotine makes the latter easier to evaporate. It will feel like the hit that is delivered by 20mg nicotine salts is the same as that offered by 24mg of freebase nicotine. Then again, what you get from nic salts is not in any way harsh, and does not hamper the flavour that you get from your e-juice.

Why Are Nic Salts Popular and Who Are They For?

Smokers who are transitioning into vaping are most suited to vape nic salts. It’s for a lot of good reasons. If you were a smoker who required high nicotine levels, nic salts are your best option. It’s these sort of people who are accustomed to that throat hit experience.

If you use 18mg of freebase nicotine for that, it will be inconveniently harsh. You don’t have to worry about this with nicotine salts because you can smoothly inhale it, and it will give you pleasurable nicotine hits.

It is not surprising that nic salts have become the go-to solution for vapers, and numerous e-liquid manufacturers have begun creating them in different strengths. Nicotine salts are particularly a favourite among heavy ex-smokers wherein they can get more satisfaction from 6mg of it than they would otherwise obtain from 12mg of freebase nicotine.

What Types Of Vape Kits Are Ideal For Nic Salts?

Low-powered starter kits are best to use for nicotine salts. Why? They vapourise easily and have a high-strength composition. They deliver harder hits than regular freebase solutions. Pod kits and vape pens are suitable for nic salts, but see to it that they have a coil that is at least 1.0 ohm in resistance. 

Since nic salts are meant to be vaped mouth to lung, putting them in a sub ohm direct to lung device would bring harder nicotine hits, and it would not matter if the substance is lower strength.

Conclusion

Vaping with nic salts is more pleasurable and satisfying, and you have to use it with the most suitable vape kits for the best results.