I feel like I'm not getting any nicotine...

[Danny McGee]

Here's my issue: I'm trying to quit smoking. I'm using a Joye 510 with 18mg/1.8% Vapers Choice liquid. I can (and do) sit and puff on this thing almost continuously all day (only pausing to refill the cartridge and charge the battery when necessary), but at the end of a good day of vaping, when I smoke an actual cigarette (Camel Lights) I get a huge nicotine buzz off of it.

What I'm wondering is if I may be doing something wrong, or if I just need to buy some stronger liquid? I vape the same way I smoke: I hold down the button, take as much of the vapor as I can into my mouth, then inhale it all in one sharp breath, hold for about half a second and exhale slowly. I can see the vapor when I exhale and it's pretty thick, so theoretically I should be getting something out of it, but I'm just not feeling it, and I find I'm still craving conventional cigarettes all day. Any suggestions?

 

[markfm]

Stronger liquid. The only thing I do differently is that the inhale from mouth to lungs I also do slowly, several seconds. Some people direct draw into the lungs You won't get anything like the immediate "rush" of a cigarette, as vaping doesn't have freebase nicotine or carbon monoxide, and may feel the urge to vape more often than smoking since vaping doesn't have MAOIs that slow the breakdown of dopamine in the brain.

While 18mg is a "typical" mg for someone who smoked lights, some people definitely need a notch higher, while others need lower -- there really is variation from person to person.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

Hi and welcome to ECF!

You aren't going to get the "buzz" from e-cigs that you get from smoking for two reasons:

1) You aren't inhaling carbon monoxide when using e-cigs. I think that is the main reason that cigarettes give you a "buzz" or a "rush."

2) The nicotine delivery from e-cigs is slower and smoother than with cigarettes. Even at high nicotine levels, very few vapers ever report getting a buzz.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Hello.
You are not doing anything wrong.....The nic is absorbed through your mouth, nose and throat.....very little actually makes it to the lungs.... Vaping is not smoking....with smoking you do get a direct hit to the lungs as the previous poster said. With vaping the nic is absorbed much more slowly into the body.....
If you are still having cig cravings, then up the nic a notch.....

Glad you found ecf....

 

[J MacLeod]

I agree.
Go higher on your nic level and it should help.
I smoked 2 packs a day, and depending on my day and mood I'll vape juice anywhere in the 18mg - 36mg range, with a drop or two of 48mg when I feel the need.
While you won't get the same instant rush, if you go too heavy on the nic you will feel it and get the jitters.
The trick is finding the level that's right for you.

 

[dormouse]

1. What is the PG/VG of yoru juice. If you are vaping a Vg or high VG juice you are not going to get the TH (throat hit) you are used to. Try high PG juices for a stronger hit in your throat (but less visible vapor).

2. What flavor are you vaping? If food/fruit flavors don't satisfy you (they were worse than that for me for my first month of vaping - they gave me a craving for an analog as if I had just eaten) then try a good stinky tobacco flavor. For a Camel smoker especially I recommend Desert Ship - I used FreedomSmokeUSA but I guess you will ahve to try Dekang Chinese Desert Ship and Camel. The Desert Ship I used was nutty and somewhat pungent and many many people have described its smell as being like smelling a freshly opened pack of smokes.

3. Try pressing the manual button in 1-2 seconds before you start dragging

4. If you are not using cartomizers, give Boge cartomizers a try - the slim 510 needs the standard resistance ones and cannot use the hotter LR ones

If all of that is not enough, then head over to Liberty-Flights.co.uk and buy yourself a Riva 510 (hotter than slim 510 and fat-batteries 750mah so it can use the LR cartomizers) and get a drip tip for the atomizers and buy Boge 2.0 cartos. I recommend using those with thin clear juices, 20% VG or less and light colored oens that leave little flavoring sediment. If the Boges are too hot, try the 2.5 ohm or standard 2.8 or 3.0 ones (which will still be hotter on Riva than on a slim 510).

Riva can use all of your slim 510 stuff except the slow charger. Slim 510 cannot use the Riva 510's fast charger nor any LR attys or cartos.

 

[r77r7r]

I agree w/WOH. I think smoking begets(?) smoking. It'd probably be easier if you put the analogs to rest. If you can.

Perhaps if you can imitate an analog better, it took me almost 3 months of vaping to quit analogs, and I believe it was just by upgrading my vaping equipment to give me a harder/ hotter hit (LR).

After that, I was able to decrease, instead of having to increase my nic level to obtain an analog-like substitute.

Best Wishes-Bob

 

[dormouse]

1. What is the PG/VG of your juice. If you are vaping a Vg or high VG juice you are not going to get the TH (throat hit) you are used to. Try high PG juices for a stronger hit in your throat (but less visible vapor).

2. What flavor are you vaping? If food/fruit flavors don't satisfy you (they were worse than that for me for my first month of vaping - they gave me a craving for an analog as if I had just eaten) then try a good aromatic tobacco flavor. For a Camel smoker especially I recommend Desert Ship - I used FreedomSmokeUSA but I guess you will have to try Dekang Chinese Desert Ship and Camel. The Desert Ship I used was nutty and somewhat pungent and many many people have described its aroma as smelling like a freshly opened pack of smokes. After about 6 weeks I was able to add food flavors to my tobacco carts like vanilla, cocoa, caramel, peach etc to change up the flavor and that led to me being satisfied vaping non-tobacco flavors. I especially love cocoa or chocolate in tobaccos - every cig brand I have ever smoked had cocoa in them (Parliament, Marlboro, Capri, Pall Mall)

3. Try pressing the manual button in 1-2 seconds before you start dragging

4. If you are not using cartomizers yet, give Boge cartomizers a try - the slim 510 needs the standard resistance ones and cannot use the hotter LR ones

5. Remember to smell the vapor! Much of the flavor is in the aroma.

If all of that is not enough, then head over to Liberty-Flights.co.uk and buy yourself a Riva 510 (hotter than slim 510 and fat-batteries 750mah so it can use the LR cartomizers) and get a drip tip for the atomizers and buy Boge 2.0 cartos. I recommend using those with thin clear juices, 20% VG or less - light colored ones that leave little flavoring sediment. If the 2.0 Boges are too hot on the Riva, try the 2.5 ohm or standard 2.8 or 3.0 ones (which will still be hotter on Riva than on a slim 510). The standard ones can be shared with the slim 510. I vape both 510 manuals and Riva 510 w/ standard Boges. When i want a bigger hit I use the Riva.

Riva can use all of your slim 510 stuff except the slow charger. Slim 510 cannot use the Riva 510's fast charger nor any LR attys or cartos.

 

[Hoosier]

Whew! Do I remember those days!

Slight difference, I did not wait for a nic-fit before grabbing a cig. I just vaped when I could and smoked when I had to. Started at 18mg and still smoked quite a bit. Moved to 24mg and it was a bit better, but not quite. Tried 36mg and my cig burning started to really drop. Stayed at 36mg for quite awhile and tried different flavors until I found this weird flavor that satisfied.

Woke up one day and discovered I had not smoked the day before. I forgot to smoke. That was it. (I did up the Nic even more to stop the morning and after dinner desire, but they were slight little things and a cart of really high Nic cleared them up quickly.)

So, it looks to me like you're on the right track!

 

[Astronomer]

Yep, get the right PV and the right juice and you will be amazed

It was in someone signature, as Hoosier mentioned

Trying to quit smoking is one thing, forgetting to have a cigarette is a different thing all together

Don’t give up!

 

[Danny McGee]

Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely up the nic level... I'll try grabbing some 36mg and higher and see what that does for me. (I'm really not concerned about getting too much nicotine at this point... it's not getting enough that's driving me crazy.)

I'm using vanilla right now. I dig it alright, but it does get kind of annoying when I'm drinking a good thick beer and feeling like I'm smoking cupcakes. It would be nice to get a good tobacco flavored bottle, but that would kill part of the incentive for quitting. (My girlfriend hates it and has recently started boycotting my lips if I taste like tobacco. ) Maybe I'll get one vanilla and one Desert Ship for when she's not around.

Regarding VG vs PG: I'm not really sure what's meant by "throat hit." The first e-cig I tried were Blu cigs (which were terrible, though I'm sure you all know that), and they really irritated my throat and lungs and actually made me cough (I never cough from smoking). I think the stuff I've got now is 100% VG; it doesn't irritate my throat at all, but the vapor is very visible, which is a more important placebo than throat hit for me.

So, a couple more questions: Where could I find a bottle of Desert Ship at higher nic levels? All the sites I'm seeing top out at about 24mg, but I'd really like to go higher than that. Secondly, what's a cartomizer? I imagine it's a combination cartridge and atomizer, but what's the benefit?

 

[Astatine]

dormouse is covering a lot of the items you should think about... (she IS a lot of help).

 

[swedishfish]

You're right, a cartomizer is a cartridge and atty combined. Vapor Station has high nicotine.

If you still don't feel like your getting enough nicotine, maybe try an ego with low resistance cartomizers.

 

[wv2win]

I would get a PV that gives you the "inhaled feel" of a cigarette which means warmer vapor to go along with the higher nic strength liquid. That would be a good 5 volt or variable volt PV such as:

5 volt GLV2: Electronic Cigarettes and E-Liquid - Great Lakes Vapor

Variable volt: the Darwin or Provari.

 

[Pega]

Hi,

new vaper here, looking for a good juice that best emulates the taste of marlboro golds...

 

[milo hobo]

Stronger liquid. The only thing I do differently is that the inhale from mouth to lungs I also do slowly, several seconds. Some people direct draw into the lungs You won't get anything like the immediate "rush" of a cigarette, as vaping doesn't have freebase nicotine or carbon monoxide, and may feel the urge to vape more often than smoking since vaping doesn't have MAOIs that slow the breakdown of dopamine in the brain.

While 18mg is a "typical" mg for someone who smoked lights, some people definitely need a notch higher, while others need lower -- there really is variation from person to person.

This is the best pharmacological explanation that I've seen. Some people have referenced adamine and those other MAOIs as the difference, but also the CO will have an immediate slowing effect on the central nervous system.

It appears that nicotine isn't the only addictive substance in cigarette smoke.