As recent studies show, more people today in the UK are vaping than ever before, with the number of adult E-Cigarette users hitting over 4 million as of 2022.
This coincided with the number of adult smokers reaching the lowest number it’s ever been as well, so it’s quite obvious that more people are now making the switch from smoking cigarettes to using an e-cigarette.
Most people when they first start out vaping will use a “traditional” e-liquid, known as Freebase which relates to the type of Nicotine used in the e-liquid. But what has seen a sudden rise in popularity is Nicotine Salts, with more people choosing to use this as their preferred e-liquid of choice.
In this blog, I’m going to look at some reasons why people are opting to use Nicotine Salt E-Liquid, and why it might be worth you giving it a try if you haven’t already!
What are Nicotine Salts?
Nicotine Salts, or Nic Salts as they are nicknamed, are a type of e-liquid that uses a different form of Nicotine compared to standard vape juice. A weak acid such as Benzoic Acid is added in which mixes with the Freebase nicotine and reduces the pH levels of the Nicotine which makes it a lot smoother to vape. This also creates a faster nicotine hit that is reminiscent of a cigarette, which people commonly crave once they quit smoking. There are plenty of other benefits of Nicotine Salt e-liquid which I’ll go into more detail about below!
Nic Salts are smoother and less harsh on the throat
The reason why Nicotine Salt Vape Juice is smoother on the throat is all to do with the addition of the weak acid (Benzoic most commonly used) that I mentioned above. Adding in the Benzoic Acid, this in turn affects the pH levels of the Nicotine. And when the pH levels of the Nicotine are neutralized by the acid that is added, this makes the vape juice a lot smoother on the throat and doesn’t give off a harsh feeling. The harsh feeling of Nicotine is commonly found in Freebase nicotine e-liquid that is of a 12/18mg strength.
This means people vaping nicotine salts can use a higher nicotine content Nicotine Salt e-liquid such as a 20mg nicotine strength, and feel little to no harshness on the throat, instead getting a smooth vape every single time they have a puff!
Nicotine Salt is faster absorbed into the bloodstream
Studies have shown that Nicotine Salt actually absorbs into the bloodstream considerably quicker than what standard freebase nicotine vape juice does. Yet again, this is because of the acid used that neutralizes the pH levels helps it absorb quicker.
For this reason, a lot of people like and prefer using Nicotine Salt Vape Juice due to the fact it has a much faster absorption rate than what standard Freebase nicotine vape juice has, meaning you’ll get a quicker and punchier nicotine hit than if you used standard e-liquid that was not Nicotine Salt.
The absorption rate of Nicotine salts is around 6-8 seconds, providing a nicotine hit that will be very close to what a person gets when they smoke cigarettes, which is ideal if you’ve recently quit smoking and want to get a similar nicotine hit you’d been accustomed to.
The flavours are richer
It might not be a known fact to you, but the flavours of nicotine salt e-liquid are considerably richer and fuller tasting than that of standard Freebase nicotine. And in fear of repeating myself, and you can probably guess what I’m going to say for the reason of why the flavours are more enhanced in Nicotine Salts are…yes, the Benzoic Acid! The acid used will react with all the other primary ingredients used in Nicotine Salt vape juice to enhance the flavour, most notably the flavour concentrates used to make the flavours of the e-liquid you know and love. Standard untreated Nicotine can give off a bit of a peppery taste, especially if using a high nicotine content vape juice, and this can heavily affect the flavour of your e-liquid. However, with the nicotine being neutralized, this gives more room for the flavours to be enhanced. It’s a win all around!
It’s the same e-liquid used in Disposable Vapes
Disposable Vapes have seen a very fast and sharp rise in popularity over the last 12 months, with the number of users of these Disposable E-Cigarettes hitting unseen numbers. Disposable Vapes are very convenient for people to use if they’re just starting out on their vaping journey, as there’s no refilling or coil changing required, just take them out of the box and go! But they are not an affordable way to vape, with each device costing around £5 on average. These devices normally contain 2ml of Nicotine Salt e-liquid, sometimes less, and if you are a heavy vaper then chances are that this won’t last you more than a day before it runs out and you’ll need to buy another one!
People will move on from Disposables to refillable vape devices in a bid to save money, and in turn, will likely opt to use Nic Salt vape juice within their device as this is what they’ve been used to when using Disposable vape devices.
Nicotine Salts are not more expensive to buy
Contrary to popular belief, Nic Salt e-liquid isn’t more expensive to buy when compared to standard Freebase nicotine vape juice. People think that the addition of extra things like the acid used will bump the price up, but this really is not the case! Vape69 offer a fantastic range of cheap UK-made Nicotine Salt e-liquid for just 69p per 10ml bottle. And alongside this range, they also have a range of premium nic salts called Vape Bar Salts, which feature flavours inspired by the vape juice used in Disposables, and these are only £1.69 per 10ml bottle!
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