How Much Nicotine is in a Cigarette?
Vaping is an industry that was launched in order to help people quit smoking. In fact, the man who invented the vaping industry as it exists today developed vaping technology while watching his father suffer from a smoking-related illness. The reason why vaping seems to help so many people is because it helps us control our nicotine intake while puffing on something that looks and feels a lot like a real cig. This means that we can satisfy our nicotine cravings as well as the need for a physical experience much like smoking.
Because of the motivation behind the vaping, it’s understandable that first-time users want to make sure that they get their nicotine level just right. After all, nicotine is the reason why we continued smoking for so long. When switching to vaping, it’s important to ensure that we’re receiving the same relative amount of nicotine per vaping session so that we don’t feel the desire to go back to cigarettes to satisfy our cravings.
So, how does the nicotine in cigarettes compare to the nicotine that’s in e-liquid? When we buy vape juice, we can clearly see the number of milligrams of nicotine in the formula, which tells us its potency level. With cigarettes, however, we’re often left in the dark when it comes to how much actual nicotine we’re taking in per cig. Well, there’s a reason for that, so allow us to explain.
Nicotine in a Cig vs Nicotine in E-Liquid
Here’s the thing – it’s complicated. There are a few reasons why, and we’ll be getting into each one thoroughly. For one thing, every cigarette on the market has its own level of nicotine, roughly. Newports are known for having the most nicotine per cigarette, coming in at about 14 milligrams. Marlboros have a little less, being somewhere around 10 milligrams. Now, this number can fluctuate, because cigarette tobacco is more organic in nature than vape juice. While vape juice is an exact science in terms of creating it, cigarettes are less so. We can control the exact number of milligrams that go into e-liquid, but we can’t do that as much with real cigarettes.
Now, let’s move onto vape juice. As you know, vape juice varies in nicotine concentration, allowing the user to choose what they want. First-time vapers are encouraged to go with a higher nicotine level to match that which cigarettes provided. To make things more confusing, we now have two types of nicotine: freebase and salt nic. Salt nic is more potent in terms of how it absorbs into the body, and we can vape it at higher concentrations without the harshness associated with its freebase counterpart.
While salt nic e-liquid tends to come in 50mg strengths, with little deviation, freebase nicotine can be enjoyed in 3 to 24 milligram strengths. This is because each one absorbs into the body in a different way.
This same logic applies to cigarette tobacco. Smoking a cigarette allows the nicotine to absorb into the body in a way that’s different from vaporizing e-liquid that contains nicotine. Therefore, you can’t really say that because you took in a certain number of milligrams of nicotine per day when smoking, you should look for that same amount in e-liquid form. You can do the math, but it’s fairly irrelevant because of the way in which the nicotine absorbs depending on how you’re consuming it.
Another factor to consider is that when we smoke cigarettes, we’re not just taking in nicotine. We’re taking in a huge variety of chemicals as well. And, these other chemicals can affect how strongly we feel the nicotine, and how it absorbs into the body.
So, you can see that there’s not much point in comparing the nicotine in cigarette tobacco with the nicotine in e-liquid. So, how do you know which nicotine level is right for you when shopping for vape juice?
Choosing the Right Nic Strength as a Former Smoker
The good thing about vaping is that we can experiment a lot more than we could with cigarettes. Like we said, there are so many options when it comes to the nicotine we take in. For one thing, we can choose the milligram strength. Additionally, we have two types of nicotine to choose from, as well as a variety of hardware that can make that nicotine hit stronger or weaker depending on our tastes.
When choosing the ideal strength, consider how much you smoked previously. Heavier smokers will be more satisfied with higher milligram strengths, and likely get more satisfaction out of salt-based nicotine options, because they provide a similar kind of buzz. Light smokers will likely prefer low-nic freebase options, as they’re more subtle. Don’t be afraid to try out a few options before settling on the one that most satisfies your unique cravings.
Final Nicotine Thoughts
As you can see, it’s hard to base your preferred nic strength for vaping off of cigarettes. However, that doesn’t matter, because it’s easy to find a nic strength that’s right for you based on your nicotine experience. Explore what’s available, and try a few different strengths so that you can satisfy your cravings.