Vaping for Beginners: Exploring Vape Shops and Understanding E-Cigarettes
Vaping – What Exactly Is It?
The word 'vaping' was hardly used until a few years ago. However, its popularity is increasing more and more, naturally in connection with e-cigarettes, which are also gaining in popularity. But what exactly does "vaping" mean, and how does it all work?
Vaping Explained Simply
Vaping refers to the use of electronic cigarettes which produce vapor, as the activity itself describes. And why not just smoke? Smoke is produced when something burns – which is the case with traditional tobacco cigarettes and the newer “slightly healthier” tobacco heaters like IQOS or Teeps. In the case of an e-cigarette, however, a liquid is vaporized – hence the colloquial term "vaping". What this liquid, E-Liquid, consists of and how the devices work will be explained further below.
How the Vapor is Produced
Vaporizing the E-Liquid is a remarkably simple process. Each device contains a so-called vaporizer head, also known as a coil, which vaporizes the liquid with the help of electricity and heat. This creates an aerosol that can be vaped and has a variety of flavors and nicotine content. Simply put, the E-Liquid is transported from the tank through a piece of cotton to a wire or a mesh of wires. When you press the button on the battery, this wire heats up and transforms the liquid into a harmless aerosol, which can then be inhaled from the vaporizer into the cheek or lungs. So you see, vaping consists of wire, cotton, electricity, and E-Liquid, all combined in a small or larger device. In 99.9% of cases, it works exactly this way. A small exception is made for some pod systems, which have a negative pressure sensor instead of a fire button. This heats the wire fully automatically as long as you draw on it.
What Do You Inhale When Vaping?
Simply put, E-Liquids mainly consist of high-purity, vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. Additionally, there is optional high-purity nicotine at a concentration of your choice, and flavors for taste. The glycerin is responsible for producing most of the vapor – it is mainly responsible for the visual component when you want to vape. Propylene glycol, on the other hand, serves as a flavor carrier and preservative. Both substances are also commonly found in fast food and ready-made meals, cosmetics, chewing gums, etc. Even traditional tobacco cigarettes contain glycerin to prevent the tobacco from drying out and to take a bit of the dryness out of the smoke. The flavors for taste mostly come from the food industry and are therefore non-toxic and safe to ingest. They are often of synthetic nature, but in some cases, they are also of natural origin. For example, most tobacco liquids are flavored with natural extracts from the tobacco plant. The nicotine is generally optional and can be added in almost any amount. In this process, all other substances that permanently damage the lungs and are contained in real tobacco are omitted. Thus, the health effect of nicotine when vaping is roughly comparable to the caffeine in a cup of coffee.
Vaping with Nicotine
As already mentioned, it is possible to vape with or without nicotine. A clear advantage of nicotine is the slight scratchiness in the throat – which brings the e-cigarette a good bit closer to the tobacco cigarette. How strong the scratchiness is depends on habit, nicotine strength, the type of device, and the proportion of PG. It can thus be varied as desired, offering a wide range of possibilities. If you want to vape without nicotine, you are of course free to simply omit the additive. The result is a very pleasant vaping experience without any scratchy effect.
Does Vaping Mean Standing Out in Public?
A few years ago I would have said yes, but definitely not today, although this largely depends on the type of device. If you use a so-called DL (Direct Lung) device when vaping, you can indeed stand out, as these produce a fairly large amount of vapor. If you do not want this, it is ideal to vape with a small pod system or an MTL e-cigarette. These produce only a very small amount of vapor, which can be compared to the smoke of a tobacco cigarette. Even when vaping, social rules should be observed. Where smoking is allowed, vaping is also allowed and vice versa. Of course, if you use a real cloud chaser, it makes sense not to envelop people standing next to you in vapor when vaping. How this is handled, however, is of course left to each individual.
