When you consider all of the scientific data currently available, we believe the obvious conclusion is that vaping must be a better option than smoking for those who already use nicotine and either can’t or won’t quit. The one advantage that smoking has over vaping, though, is that if you know how to use one type of cigarette, you know how to use them all. That’s certainly not true of vaping devices. There is an unbelievable amount of variety in the vaping industry, and while that’s a good thing for those who already vape, it can make things incredibly confusing for those who don’t vape yet. Your choice of hardware can have a drastic effect on your vaping experience, so we’re here to tell you about the different ways in which your product choice can affect the way you vape.

This is the quick start guide for vaping beginners. If you know nothing about vaping and want to get started in the easiest way possible, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss the most popular types of vaping products and describe what you can expect your vaping experience to be like. We’ll also explain how to use your first vaping device and offer some tips that you may find helpful if you don’t love your first vaping experience. Let’s begin!

WHAT IS VAPING?

Vaping is using an electronic device that simulates smoking by heating a liquid until it turns to vapour. The liquid contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine and various flavours. It also usually contains nicotine. You puff on the device as if it were a cigarette, and when you inhale the vapour, the nicotine absorbs through your lungs. When you exhale, you’ll see a cloud of vapour that looks like smoke. Unlike other forms of nicotine replacement, vaping mimics the sensations, flavours and physical motions of smoking.

Compared to smoking, vaping has so many advantages that it would be impossible to list them all here. These are just a few of the benefits of vaping.

• It costs significantly less than smoking.
• The vapour contains no tar or other products of combustion.
• Vaping leaves no lingering smell on your clothes, in your home or in your car.
• Vaping doesn’t give you bad breath.
• Tobacco can only ever taste like tobacco, but vaping can taste like almost anything.

WHAT DO I NEED TO START VAPING?

To start vaping, you need the following items:

• A vaping device. The device is the core of your vaping setup. A vaping device usually includes a battery and a microprocessor that manages various safety parameters. The device may also include controls that allow you to adjust your vaping wattage and other settings.
• A tank. The tank holds your e-liquid and includes the heating coil that turns the e-liquid to vapour. In lieu of refillable tanks, some vaping devices use small disposable e-liquid pods. We’ll discuss those in a moment.
• E-liquid. You’ll consume e-liquid when you vape. E-liquid supplies the nicotine that you’ll need as a former smoker. There are hundreds of different e-liquid flavours in the world.

WHAT TYPES OF VAPING DEVICES ARE THERE?

Here at Premium Vape, we’ve worked hard to identify the world’s best vaping devices for beginners. You can put those devices loosely into two different categories: pod vaping systems and vape pens. When you begin shopping in earnest for a vaping device, the first thing you should know is that price has almost nothing to do with a vaping product’s quality. You should buy a vaping device for its capabilities and features – not its price.

Next, let’s learn a bit about how vape pens and pod vaping systems compare.

POD VAPING SYSTEMS

The number one pod vaping system that we carry at Premium Vape is the JUUL e-cigarette. It holds the most market share out of all vaping devices in the United States, and we import it into New Zealand from a US-based distributor. The JUUL revolutionized the vaping industry when it first appeared on the market in 2015. It’s incredibly simple to use, and it’s responsible for popularizing a new form of e-liquid called nicotine salt e-liquid.

Pod vaping systems get their name from the fact that they store their e-liquid in disposable pods. To vape, all that you need to do is pull a pod out of a pack and push it into the top of your device. Most pod systems use automatic puff sensors, so you can just inhale to vape.

BENEFITS OF POD VAPING SYSTEMS

Pod systems are generally the easiest and most satisfying vaping devices to use. To keep a pre-filled pod system up and running, simply keep your battery charged and swap out your empty pods. Pod systems often include high-nicotine e-liquids with strengths up to 50 mg, and those e-liquids provide around the same nicotine per puff as tobacco cigarettes. It’s very easy to switch from smoking to vaping using a pod system because your body doesn’t have to adjust to lower nicotine levels.

VAPE PENS

Vape pens are vaping devices that are slightly larger and slightly higher on the complexity scale than pod systems. The trade-off with a vape pen is that, in giving up the tiny size and simplicity of a pod system, you get an infinitely more capable device with superior vapour production and far better battery life. The Joyetech eGo AIO, for example, has the same battery capacity as nearly eight JUUL batteries and holds nearly as much e-liquid as three JUUL pods. Using a device without pre-filled pods, though, means that you’ll need to buy bottled e-liquid and fill your device’s tank yourself.

BENEFITS OF VAPE PENS

Vape pens represent an excellent compromise between simplicity and performance. Although using a vape pen does mean that you’ll need to fill your own tank and replace your atomizer coil periodically, the benefits are that you won’t need to recharge your battery constantly or replace your pod several times a day. Bottled e-liquid is also much less expensive than pre-filled pods, so vape pens are typically cheaper to own than pod systems – and when you buy e-liquid by the bottle, you can choose from hundreds of different flavours rather than the small handful available for a single pod system.

An additional benefit of vape pens is that most of them have manual fire buttons rather than automatic puff sensors. When you use a vape pen, you can press and hold the button before you begin inhaling. You’ll get much larger clouds with a vape pen than you’ll get with a device like the JUUL.

HOW DO I USE A VAPING DEVICE?

Ready to get started with a new vaping system? It’s a very simple three-step process.

• Charge the battery. Most vaping devices charge via USB. Use the included cable or adapter to charge the battery through one of your computer’s USB ports.
• Fill the tank. If you’re using a pod system, your device’s “tanks” are already full; just push in a pod. If you’re using a vape pen, twist off the top hardware and add e-liquid to the reservoir until the level of e-liquid reaches the tank’s top fill line. If you’re using a new atomizer coil for the first time, wait several minutes for the coil’s cotton wick to absorb the e-liquid before you vape.
• Inhale gently. Vaping isn’t smoking, and puffing more firmly won’t cause your device to produce bigger vapour clouds. Puffing too firmly, in fact, may actually cause e-liquid to enter your mouth. You’ll get the biggest and most satisfying vapour clouds by puffing slowly and gently.

I BOUGHT MY FIRST VAPING DEVICE AND DON’T LIKE IT. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Don’t panic! Vaping isn’t smoking. If you stick with it, you’re going to enjoy it far more than you ever enjoyed cigarettes. Remember these pointers.

• Vaping doesn’t taste the same as smoking. E-liquids can taste like almost anything – custard-filled pastries, watermelon bubble gum, lemonade and more – but you will not find an e-liquid that tastes like tobacco smoke. Keep an open mind and never stop experimenting. You will find an e-liquid that tastes better to you than smoke.
• Vaping doesn’t feel exactly the same as smoking. It does feel similar because the nicotine in the e-liquid creates a “throat hit” that mimics the sensation of inhaling tobacco smoke. You may cough a bit for the first few days after making the switch, though, if you’re a long-term smoker. The coughing will go away as your lungs clear themselves out.
• E-cigarette vapour doesn’t contain the same chemicals as tobacco smoke. Although you’ll still get your nicotine when you switch to vaping, it may take a few days for your body to adjust to the absence of thousands of other volatile compounds. Stick with it!
• If you feel anxious and irritable and find yourself running out of pods or e-liquid too quickly, the nicotine strength of your e-liquid may be too low.
• If you experience harshness and find the vapour difficult to inhale, the nicotine strength of your e-liquid may be too high.