​What is the Best Vape For Heavy Smokers?

It’s advised by many organisations such as the NHS to stop smoking and that vaping could be the potential gateway to make it all possible. Heavy smokers who ‘chain smoke’ twenty-plus a day will find it more difficult than most to quit, such is the intense daily habit and level of addiction. How much nicotine you consume when you smoke will be a good indicator of how much you vape. If the levels you smoke are excessive, what’s the best vaping device to ease your transition as a heavy smoker? There are lots of questions to consider before you can get down to zero nicotine and quit smoking alongside vaping altogether. The type of e-liquid chosen, which coil resistance you use and the type of technique you use to inhale all matter. Then you have to consider how much nicotine you will need in a day and when. Because you don’t need to finish your vaping e-liquid in one go like you would a cigarette, it’s very handy to be able to pick up and vape your nicotine fix, putting it back down again when you like for flexibility and to essentially feed your habit less when necessary.

The trick is to not go over your limit of nicotine, which can easily be done as you begin to adjust to vaping as a heavy smoker. It’s our job to explain everything about vaping in a simplified way, in addition to showing some compatible devices so you can get to it and start living a healthier life. Let’s start by highlighting a key aspect for new vapers that smoke excessively and frequently - throat hit.

7 Great Options for Heavy Smokers

Uwell Caliburn A2S - Closest Throat Hit to Smoking

Pros

• Auto draw
• Clear e-liquid window
• Mouth-to-lung vape
• Mesh coils to experience the stronger flavour
• Innovative and stylish battery life indicator

Cons

• Battery life could be larger (520mAh)

Geekvape Sonder U - Lightweight and Compact

Pros

• The surprisingly large battery capacity of 1000mAh for such a small pocket device
• Only weighs 40g
• Stylish design
• E-liquid view window
• Simple side fill pods

Cons

• No adjustable airflow, which prevents a heavy smoker from changing the draw if needed

XEO VOID - the MTL and DTL Option

Pros

• Useful leak proofing system
• Can work equally well with Sub-Ohm and higher resistance coils
• The device charges quickly standing up and last roughly one full day

Cons

• The mouthpiece can get too warm vaping if used excessively (leave for 1-2 minutes or so before returning to vaping should this occur)

SMOK RPM 25W - Generous MTL Battery Capacity

Pros

• Similar build to a cigarette
• The easily adjustable airflow ring
• Useful puff counter
• Generous battery size with 900mAh
• Quality design with comfortable to grip leather panels

Cons

• Difficult to see the e-liquid levels and new vapers from heavy smoking may find the side fill tricky although the slot is large and fits most e-liquid bottles

VSAVI Starter Kit - Close Resemblance to a Cigarette

Pros

• An affordable vape kit that not only looks like a cigarette but is shaped like one too. Will feel very familiar with heavy smokers
• Charger means you don’t need to throw away like you would when smoking and excellent value means you can add another battery if needed as a backup
• You can either get prefilled cartridges in a wide range of flavours from Congress Tobacco to Vanilla, which involves no messing about with e-liquids (really handy for beginners)
• Or buy the all-in-one starter kit like above with an EX Blank atomiser ready for you to top up when needed. This gives you more free reign to pick the flavours you wish, adjusting the nicotine levels

Cons

• Not recommended with nic salts. The best you can do is go for a high level of PG at 18mg nicotine, with the platinum e-liquids over 70% PG complimenting the device perfectly

Step Up To Mods - Voopoo VMate E

Pros

• Large 1200mAh battery and yet a compact pod kit
• Useful protective dust cap to improve hygiene when vaping
• Also offers a restricted lung hit, so you can vape direct into the lungs but not feel like you are drawing too much e-liquid to inhale
• Press fit coils in different ranges - 0.7 and 1.2 Ohms, so a heavy smoker can have a decent mouth-to-lung vape, loose MTL or restrictive DTL
• Stylish leather design in a wide variety of colours

Cons

• Need to hold the cap as you can’t stick it on the bottom of the device, so unless you keep it in your hand, it will pick up dust in the pocket or bag, negating the point of the feature as a way to keep your mouthpiece clean

Follow Up Information for Heavy Smokers About Vaping

Should You Stick With Mouth To Lung Or Try Direct Lung?

We’re all on a different path and vapers will feel no different. Before you start, create a checklist of goals and tick them off when you’ve hit the milestone. Then it’s about knowing what your preferred vaping technique is. For instance, a heavy vaper will be extremely used to the feeling of an intense throat hit, holding the smoke in the mouth first before inhaling to the lungs, known as Mouth to Lung (MTL). Do you want to quit smoking completely? If so you have to replace your nicotine hit by using the correct vape device and optimum vaping method. The best way to do that is by keeping the nicotine level high, at least initially, so that you are not tempted to light up a cigarette.

The method is one of the most important aspects because it will determine whether you get the most out of vaping, at least initially for beginners switching from cigarettes. If you smoke 15-20 cigarettes a day, it’s likely your addiction will be high and classed as a ‘heavy smoker’, meaning you need to replicate that same pattern when you vape. That means starting high at around 18-20mg of nicotine in your vape and slowly working your way down, ideally to 0mg.

For advanced vapers that like to create big clouds and enjoy thicker e-liquids, they vape directly to the lungs. Picking the right device to pair up with your technique is a key element when choosing your vape as a heavy smoker. Also, you need to think about whether you have the right e-liquid, as well as the VG/PG ratio in that bottle. Will you fill it up yourself or go for a prefilled pod that’s easy and sidesteps any issues for beginners? It’s all about finding the perfect combination of multiple factors to achieve the desired result.

Keeping it simple with a small highly effective prefilled vape device will give you the best chance of kicking the smoking habit. Large devices and messing around with e-liquid will not feel familiar.

Vaping 101 - Back to Basics

Vaping can be a very technical subject, especially when you get into the realm of trying different modified devices with settings such as temperature and wattage control. But as a beginner vaper switching from heavy smoking, you want your device as simple as possible. Areas to consider include your battery life and how you take a draw from your vape. Most devices range between 300mAh up to 2100mAh, which is a huge jump between minimal casual vaping and long-life vaping. Generally, the thicker the e-liquid due to a higher level of VG, the quicker your battery will go flat. For those who can not use PG-based e-liquids, our 100% VG e-liquid has been formulated and made in a way that ensures it is not too thick. If you consider getting a bigger battery-powered vape, that will mean needing to adjust the wattage levels.

As a beginner using MTL, it’s better to vape at lower wattage and higher PG ratio, which is explained more below. When you inhale the nicotine vapour from your vape device, it is important to take a few quick short puffs to "warm up" the device. You then need to take steady slow draws for 3 to 4 seconds. Vaping will take a little longer to feel the initial nicotine hit than smoking does - you will feel the nicotine hit after 20 - 30 seconds. After the initial 20 or so seconds, nicotine has now been absorbed and as you continue to vape it will feel much like smoking and after a few minutes, your craving will go, just like it does when smoking.

The key is to take it slowly and inhale at the same pace than you would if smoking. Try not to chain vape, this will result in burnt coils, more cost and require more maintenance of your vape. It can be tempting to continuously vape and although you are not at risk of a nicotine overdose if you have the right nicotine strength, it simply is not necessary. Nicotine on its own is virtually harmless but as you know, it is addictive so you should vape less frequently.

PG V's VG And Your E-Liquid Preference

Predominantly e-liquids contain sweeteners and two other vital components. With Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerine (VG), both are key ingredients in any e-liquid. They act as the binder, playing a key role in the texture, smoothness and taste of your vape flavours selected. Heavy smokers usually switch to vaping for health reasons, albeit reluctantly because it’s such a familiar habit. Therefore, to stay on the right track, we can’t stress how important it is to find an e-liquid setup that works. Typically new vapers would be better with a higher ratio of PG because it’s a thinner chemical compound than VG (which can get very thick) and requires less power while achieving that throat hit smokers are familiar with.

Ideally, you want at the very least a 50/50 ratio of PG and VG, which can be found in a variety of flavours. That’s the right blend of heat, flavour and thickness in your e-liquid for beginner vapers adjusting from 20 cigarettes a day. Otherwise, you could revert to old ways. What’s in your e-liquid determines how long you vape and whether it will be a successful transition or not. For instance, with many vapers moving across from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes, they want no thrills. Simply inhalation of a vapour that’s less harmful than smoking but still contains nicotine.

To keep high nicotine levels and reasonable cloud production, our 8mg PG/VG e-liquids or our nicotine salts, also known as ‘nic salts’ are ideal. This feature of a higher concentration of pure nicotine will create that smooth texture you know from smoking. Because it’s a stronger dosage, you will not need to vape as frequently so ensure that the right concentration is selected.

Why Nicotine Salts Could Be The Best Option For Heavy Smokers

With any e-liquid, they contain predominantly freebase nicotine (which is typical in most e-liquids) or more recently nicotine salts. Commonly known as nic salts, this is a fantastic option and tailor-made for heavy smokers. You need to match this with a high resistance coil above one Ohm (typically goes to around 1.8 Ohms as a max). This is because you want less heat in your vape to get the right throat hit. In contrast, cloud chasers seek a ‘Sub-Ohm’ coil resistance below one Ohm to produce more clouds, and thicker e-liquids to inhale with a higher ratio of VG. Our top three vapes for heavier smokers are designed to ensure this is all simplified.

Nic salts increase in nicotine content, which typically features between 10mg up to a max of 20mg, but with a major difference to freebase nicotine. With nic salts, you get a much smoother texture, which absorbs in the bloodstream quicker than freebase. This in turn creates a less harsh throat hit, hitting the right spot with the right MTL vape for heavy smokers. Try starting at 20mg and work your way down gradually. With freebase nicotine e-liquids, most vapers go between 3mg to 12mg.

Overall, to ease your transition into vaping, nic salts is the best option and we can’t stress this enough for heavy smokers. You’ll need a high dose of nicotine, at least to begin with and nic salts provide that, while not skimping on quality plus keeping the habit of MTL inhalation ticking along nicely. Now that you know about the right e-liquid, coil resistance and recommendation to stick with Mouth to Lung vaping, let's explore your options.

What Makes a Good Device For Entry Level Vaping

So to summarise everything above, initially, you should stick with a small portable device that’s easy to carry around and feels light in your hand - like a cigarette would. Go for one ideally with a sufficient battery size because it will not need charging as much. However, some of the options below for an affordable price provide battery sizes between 250-500mAh, which is fine if you get a secondary battery or buy duplicate devices, switching when needed.

In terms of coil resistance and e-liquid compatibility, nic salts are a good option, or a higher nicotine high PG e-liquid for heavy smokers changing to vaping. You don’t want to vape with high VG, especially if using 18mg of nicotine because the flavour will be compromised, it will be harsh on the throat, plus vaping DTL will give you an overload of nicotine.

Stick with a higher resistance coil above one Ohm or your thicker nic salts can burn your coils, meaning they will need swapping even sooner. Get the balance right and you can expect less vapour production and a better MTL experience. Overall, heavy smokers want a device that’s as easy as possible to use, not lacking in quality but not over-complicated either.