If you’re confused, and wondering ‘why on earth would a vape shop be encouraging me to reduce my nicotine intake?’, well, we’ll tell you why.
Our mission here at vape.co.uk is to get people off the ciggies and on to vapes. We understand that vaping isn’t something you’re going to be doing your whole life, and we can’t/don’t want to change that, so why not help make this process a little bit easier for you by offering some reliable info on how to lower your nicotine intake, and keep it low.
There are a few challenges you’ll need to overcome in order to reduce your overall nicotine consumption and dependence. These tricks and tips can be more than a little confusing, so we’ve summarised them for you and tried to explain them as simply as possible.
You may or may not have noticed this, but if you’re vaping big puff disposables, there aren’t many low nicotine options available. We’ve also noticed online that on some big puff vape kits, the nicotine content is not disclosed. 99% of them have a high nicotine content of 20mg (the highest nicotine content legally aloud to be sold in the UK) with few exceptions. If you are set on vaping the big puff vape devices, then check the descriptions and titles carefully before you purchase, and if the nicotine content is not disclosed, just assume that it’s high.
There is only 1 big puff vape kit on the market at the moment that is lower than 20mg, and that’s the Dojo Blast 10mg. You do have to purchase the 20mg kit first which comes prefilled with e-liquid in a 20mg nicotine strength, but you can then purchase 10mg replacement pods.
If you want to stick with disposables, then there are a few 10mg options available in a 600 puff size, but these won’t be around for long as disposables are due to be banned in June 2025. Here are a few options:
If you’re thinking about leaving disposables in 2024 but you aren’t ready to commit to a proper kit, then you could try something like the Aspire R1 or the Bar Juice 20k. These kits are ‘semi disposable’ meaning you can recharge them, but you can’t change the pod, so after a couple of weeks you will need to replace the whole kit. The benefits of this are that you can fill them up with any liquid you’d like, in any nicotine strength, and bin them when they’re done for extra low maintenance. We do have some pre made bundles available on our site to make the process even easier for you, with the best/most popular e-liquids already selected.
You can view our bundles here in a variety of different nicotine strengths.
It’s also really important that you purchase your vapes from reputable sellers so that the nicotine content advertised is what’s actually in the products. Some unregulated products can contain as much as 50mg of nicotine, and that’s not very helpful when you’re looking to lower your nicotine intake.
Challenge Number 2: Not Using A Pod Kit
You’re probably thinking why on earth would i purchase a vape kit when I’m trying to lower my nicotine intake with the intention of quitting? Well, there unfortunately aren’t many cheap or accessible ways to lower your nicotine if you’re still using disposables. Vape liquids are where it’s at and give you much more control over the level of nicotine you’re vaping. There are many cheap pod kits on the market that will save you money pretty much instantly and are an excellent tool for lowering/quitting nicotine.
If you’re using 5 Elf Bars a week at £20 a pop, and you switch over to a cheap £9.99 kit and get 4 nic salts for £10, not only will you have not spent a penny more than you usually do, but you would also receive 40ml of liquid, instead of the 8ml you’d be getting in 5 Elf bars.
So that 1 off payment of £19.99 for a kit and 4 nic salts would last you around a month instead of 1 week for 5 disposables. Not to mention you then have free range over all of our nic salts, with nicotine strengths as low as 1mg which will make your nicotine lowering journey a lot smoother.
Here are some cheap and cheerful kits that are high quality and user friendly, all of which have a simple fill and go system with no buttons.
The lower you go with your nicotine, the sweeter and more intense the flavours of e-liquids will be. This is a genuine complaint that we hear from customers who are sick of low nicotine nic salts tasting sickly sweet. One way to overcome this is to dilute it with an unflavoured liquid directly in your pod. The lowest flavourless liquids on the market at the moment are 11mg, so this is perfect if you’re lowering your nicotine from 20mg to 10mg, but doesn’t really solve the issue if you want to go even lower.
For extra low nicotine with flavours that aren’t too sweet, the Aisu by Zap! Juice range is one of the best with flavours that are mellow and more refreshing than sweet. There are 3mg and 6mg strengths available, but please note these are blended at a 70VG/30PG ratio so you’ll need to use a 0.4Ohms, 0.6Ohms, or 0.8Ohms pod to avoid leaking or the pod burning out prematurely.
Another thing to note is that freebase e-liquids are always going to have a less intense flavour than nic salts due to the way they’re formulated. The 88Vape freebase range is one of our favourite ranges and also one of the most popular. Freebase nic salts are also more widely available in lower nicotine strengths and are great for gradually lowering your nicotine strength. You can purchase the 88Vape liquids in 20mg, 16mg, 11mg, 6mg, 3mg and finally 1mg.
If you’re not bothered about overly sweet liquids and you want to keep vaping nic salts (they relieve cravings faster than freebase) then there are also a few ranges available that you might enjoy. The bar juice range is one of our favourites because it’s available in 4 different nicotine strengths and is one of the only nic salt ranges to have a 15mg strength liquid. You can get the Bar Juice nic salts in 20mg, 15mg, 10mg and 5mg, which is great for those of you that enjoy nic salts such as the Elfliqs and Elux nic salts (they all taste quite similar).
Challenge Number 4: Speed Of Nicotine Reduction
When lowering your nicotine intake, you want to be going at a reasonable pace. Don’t try to run before you can walk, but also don’t move at a snails pace. A general rule of thumb when reducing your strength is once per month to allow your body to get used to the difference. This will also help you with a timeline for being completely vape free and will keep you on track.
On the first of every month, drop your strength. It’s fine if you want to go from 20mg, to 18mg, to 16mg etc, but it’s also fine if you want to jump from 20mg, to 10mg to 5mg. Just do whatever you’re comfortable with and make sure you stick to it.
Challenge Number 5: Throat Hit
One of the reasons that vaping is so addictive, and why people stick with high nicotine, is because of the throat hit. The lower the nicotine the less you’ll find a strong hit, so to try and replicate this with low nicotine there are a few things that you can do.
Menthol/Minty Flavours
Minty nic salts with have a cooling effect on the throat which can mimic the natural throat hit that you get from high nicotine liquids. When you take a drag, hold the vapour for a little longer than you normally would to amplify this cooling feeling.
High Resistance Pods
Go for a high resistance pod such as 1.0Ohms or 1.2Ohms. These provide what is referred to as a ‘tight draw’ and will mimic the feeling of smoking cigarettes which can trick your brain into being satisfied with the strength of your e-liquid. It will also make you take a deeper breath, which will naturally increase your throat hit.
Closed Airflow
Pair a closed airflow with a high ohm pod for the best results. If you have an open airflow or a ‘loose draw’ with low nicotine, you won’t find as much satisfaction with each drag.
High PG
If you don’t mind going a little more DIY, then adding a PG base mix to your liquid will not only dilute the nicotine content further, but it will also increase the throat hit
Challenge Number 6: Not Allowing Your Body To Adjust
It’s natural to start on a lower nicotine strength and think ‘this isn’t hitting the spot’ and start to creep back up to high nicotine. You need to keep in mind that it will take time for your body to adjust, and that these feelings are completely normal and will happen. Push through it and think of the end result.
Challenge Number 7: Keeping Off Vapes
If you’re now down to the lowest dose and you feel like it’s finally time to give vaping up for good, there are a few things that can help you.
Get rid of all of your vaping products and remove any temptations.
For the first few months after quitting, avoid situations and activities that make you want to vape, such as drinking alcohol.
To substitute the hand to mouth action that is often one of the hardest parts of vaping to kick, eat foods like carrots and celery in small bites to try and replicate this feeling.
Chew minty chewing gum to keep your mouth busy.
Tell people that you’ve quit to keep yourself accountable.
Congratulate yourself, this is a good thing that you’ve done and will benefit you in the long term. Stay positive.
It can take between 2-4 weeks for your cravings to disappear completely. Although it will be tough, this is not a long time in the grand scheme of things and is something you are completely capable of doing.
Try not to use nicotine substitute products such as strips, nicotine pouches, and nicotine gum unless absolutely necessary. You don’t want to prolong the addiction and risk falling back into it.
Conclusion:
We’ll there you have it! Hopefully you have all of the knowledge you need to be able to start your low nicotine journey. We understand how hard lowering nicotine/quitting vaping is, so be kind to yourself (sweet treats are all 0 calories while you’re doing this btw) and keep a positive mindset. You can follow along with the journey of others online via platforms such as YouTube and TikTok so that you don’t feel like you’re doing this alone, and if you need any support from us then please join our live chat in the bottom right hand corner to speak to a human 7 days a week between 8AM-8PM. Good luck!
Need help with anything vape related or have a question about our products? Click the button in the bottom-right corner to chat with one of our UK-based vape experts and get real-time advice by speaking to an actual human.
How To Reduce Your Nicotine Intake With Vaping
If you’re confused, and wondering ‘why on earth would a vape shop be encouraging me to reduce my nicotine intake?’, well, we’ll tell you why.
Our mission here at vape.co.uk is to get people off the ciggies and on to vapes. We understand that vaping isn’t something you’re going to be doing your whole life, and we can’t/don’t want to change that, so why not help make this process a little bit easier for you by offering some reliable info on how to lower your nicotine intake, and keep it low.
There are a few challenges you’ll need to overcome in order to reduce your overall nicotine consumption and dependence. These tricks and tips can be more than a little confusing, so we’ve summarised them for you and tried to explain them as simply as possible.
Challenge Number 1: Sneaky High Nicotine Products
Big Puff Vapes
You may or may not have noticed this, but if you’re vaping big puff disposables, there aren’t many low nicotine options available. We’ve also noticed online that on some big puff vape kits, the nicotine content is not disclosed. 99% of them have a high nicotine content of 20mg (the highest nicotine content legally aloud to be sold in the UK) with few exceptions. If you are set on vaping the big puff vape devices, then check the descriptions and titles carefully before you purchase, and if the nicotine content is not disclosed, just assume that it’s high.
There is only 1 big puff vape kit on the market at the moment that is lower than 20mg, and that’s the Dojo Blast 10mg. You do have to purchase the 20mg kit first which comes prefilled with e-liquid in a 20mg nicotine strength, but you can then purchase 10mg replacement pods.
If you want to stick with disposables, then there are a few 10mg options available in a 600 puff size, but these won’t be around for long as disposables are due to be banned in June 2025. Here are a few options:
If you’re thinking about leaving disposables in 2024 but you aren’t ready to commit to a proper kit, then you could try something like the Aspire R1 or the Bar Juice 20k. These kits are ‘semi disposable’ meaning you can recharge them, but you can’t change the pod, so after a couple of weeks you will need to replace the whole kit. The benefits of this are that you can fill them up with any liquid you’d like, in any nicotine strength, and bin them when they’re done for extra low maintenance. We do have some pre made bundles available on our site to make the process even easier for you, with the best/most popular e-liquids already selected.
You can view our bundles here in a variety of different nicotine strengths.
It’s also really important that you purchase your vapes from reputable sellers so that the nicotine content advertised is what’s actually in the products. Some unregulated products can contain as much as 50mg of nicotine, and that’s not very helpful when you’re looking to lower your nicotine intake.
Challenge Number 2: Not Using A Pod Kit
You’re probably thinking why on earth would i purchase a vape kit when I’m trying to lower my nicotine intake with the intention of quitting? Well, there unfortunately aren’t many cheap or accessible ways to lower your nicotine if you’re still using disposables. Vape liquids are where it’s at and give you much more control over the level of nicotine you’re vaping. There are many cheap pod kits on the market that will save you money pretty much instantly and are an excellent tool for lowering/quitting nicotine.
If you’re using 5 Elf Bars a week at £20 a pop, and you switch over to a cheap £9.99 kit and get 4 nic salts for £10, not only will you have not spent a penny more than you usually do, but you would also receive 40ml of liquid, instead of the 8ml you’d be getting in 5 Elf bars.
So that 1 off payment of £19.99 for a kit and 4 nic salts would last you around a month instead of 1 week for 5 disposables. Not to mention you then have free range over all of our nic salts, with nicotine strengths as low as 1mg which will make your nicotine lowering journey a lot smoother.
Here are some cheap and cheerful kits that are high quality and user friendly, all of which have a simple fill and go system with no buttons.
Challenge Number 3: Overly Sweet Liquids
The lower you go with your nicotine, the sweeter and more intense the flavours of e-liquids will be. This is a genuine complaint that we hear from customers who are sick of low nicotine nic salts tasting sickly sweet. One way to overcome this is to dilute it with an unflavoured liquid directly in your pod. The lowest flavourless liquids on the market at the moment are 11mg, so this is perfect if you’re lowering your nicotine from 20mg to 10mg, but doesn’t really solve the issue if you want to go even lower.
For extra low nicotine with flavours that aren’t too sweet, the Aisu by Zap! Juice range is one of the best with flavours that are mellow and more refreshing than sweet. There are 3mg and 6mg strengths available, but please note these are blended at a 70VG/30PG ratio so you’ll need to use a 0.4Ohms, 0.6Ohms, or 0.8Ohms pod to avoid leaking or the pod burning out prematurely.
Another thing to note is that freebase e-liquids are always going to have a less intense flavour than nic salts due to the way they’re formulated. The 88Vape freebase range is one of our favourite ranges and also one of the most popular. Freebase nic salts are also more widely available in lower nicotine strengths and are great for gradually lowering your nicotine strength. You can purchase the 88Vape liquids in 20mg, 16mg, 11mg, 6mg, 3mg and finally 1mg.
If you’re not bothered about overly sweet liquids and you want to keep vaping nic salts (they relieve cravings faster than freebase) then there are also a few ranges available that you might enjoy. The bar juice range is one of our favourites because it’s available in 4 different nicotine strengths and is one of the only nic salt ranges to have a 15mg strength liquid. You can get the Bar Juice nic salts in 20mg, 15mg, 10mg and 5mg, which is great for those of you that enjoy nic salts such as the Elfliqs and Elux nic salts (they all taste quite similar).
Challenge Number 4: Speed Of Nicotine Reduction
When lowering your nicotine intake, you want to be going at a reasonable pace. Don’t try to run before you can walk, but also don’t move at a snails pace. A general rule of thumb when reducing your strength is once per month to allow your body to get used to the difference. This will also help you with a timeline for being completely vape free and will keep you on track.
On the first of every month, drop your strength. It’s fine if you want to go from 20mg, to 18mg, to 16mg etc, but it’s also fine if you want to jump from 20mg, to 10mg to 5mg. Just do whatever you’re comfortable with and make sure you stick to it.
Challenge Number 5: Throat Hit
One of the reasons that vaping is so addictive, and why people stick with high nicotine, is because of the throat hit. The lower the nicotine the less you’ll find a strong hit, so to try and replicate this with low nicotine there are a few things that you can do.
Menthol/Minty Flavours
Minty nic salts with have a cooling effect on the throat which can mimic the natural throat hit that you get from high nicotine liquids. When you take a drag, hold the vapour for a little longer than you normally would to amplify this cooling feeling.
High Resistance Pods
Go for a high resistance pod such as 1.0Ohms or 1.2Ohms. These provide what is referred to as a ‘tight draw’ and will mimic the feeling of smoking cigarettes which can trick your brain into being satisfied with the strength of your e-liquid. It will also make you take a deeper breath, which will naturally increase your throat hit.
Closed Airflow
Pair a closed airflow with a high ohm pod for the best results. If you have an open airflow or a ‘loose draw’ with low nicotine, you won’t find as much satisfaction with each drag.
High PG
If you don’t mind going a little more DIY, then adding a PG base mix to your liquid will not only dilute the nicotine content further, but it will also increase the throat hit
Challenge Number 6: Not Allowing Your Body To Adjust
It’s natural to start on a lower nicotine strength and think ‘this isn’t hitting the spot’ and start to creep back up to high nicotine. You need to keep in mind that it will take time for your body to adjust, and that these feelings are completely normal and will happen. Push through it and think of the end result.
Challenge Number 7: Keeping Off Vapes
If you’re now down to the lowest dose and you feel like it’s finally time to give vaping up for good, there are a few things that can help you.
It can take between 2-4 weeks for your cravings to disappear completely. Although it will be tough, this is not a long time in the grand scheme of things and is something you are completely capable of doing.
Try not to use nicotine substitute products such as strips, nicotine pouches, and nicotine gum unless absolutely necessary. You don’t want to prolong the addiction and risk falling back into it.
Conclusion:
We’ll there you have it! Hopefully you have all of the knowledge you need to be able to start your low nicotine journey. We understand how hard lowering nicotine/quitting vaping is, so be kind to yourself (sweet treats are all 0 calories while you’re doing this btw) and keep a positive mindset. You can follow along with the journey of others online via platforms such as YouTube and TikTok so that you don’t feel like you’re doing this alone, and if you need any support from us then please join our live chat in the bottom right hand corner to speak to a human 7 days a week between 8AM-8PM. Good luck!
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________