The vaping world can be a super confusing place, that’s why we try to keep things simple at vape.co.uk. We’ve created an A-Z vaping glossary page which should help you filter through any industry jargon terms and keep you more informed when it comes to choosing your equipment.

If you think there are any terms we could add – we’d love to hear from you! You can get in touch with us at helpers@vape.co.uk.

A

Atomizer

• An atomizeris essentially a small heating element that vaporizes e-liquid and a wicking material that draws liquid onto the coil. Many people use the terms coil and atomizer interchangeably.

C

Coil

• A coil is responsible for heating up e-liquid in a tank or kit and they convert the e-liquid to vapour. Coils burn out after time so they need to be replaced (usually once they start to taste burnt).

D

Draw

• A ‘draw’ is simply the process of inhaling vapour from your e-cigarette. Draws are usually described as one of the following: tight/open/slow/loose.

 

Drip Tip

• A drip tip is a little mouthpiece that sits on your vape kit. Originally it was used to drip e-liquid straight into the atomiser. However, today it is used merely as a disposable mouthpiece.

 

Dry Hit

• To ‘dry hit’ a vape is to inhale from the mouthpiece without the device being switched on. Often a dry hit is used to pull liquid onto the coil to soak the wick during the priming process.

 

DTL

• DTL is short for Direct-To-Lung. This refers to a style of vaping by which you inhale straight from your e-cigarette into your lung rather than holding the vapour in your mouth first. This is also known as ‘straight to lung’.

M

MG

• Stands for Milligram and will always represent the milligram of nicotine in an e-liquid.

 

Mod

• A mod is an advanced or ‘modified’ version of an e-cigarette. Mods usually don’t come ready to go, they require a tank to be connected to then create a kit. Mods are known for producing high amounts of vapour and being longer lasting than a standard e-cigarette.

 

MTL

• Mouth to lung. This type of vaping is most similar to that of a cigarette, you draw the vapour into your mouth before taking a second inhale to your lung.

N

Nicotine

• Nicotine is stimulant chemical found most commonly in cigarettes and some e-cigarette liquids. Not all E-liquids will contain nicotine so always check. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance.

 

Nic-Salt (Nicotine Salt)

• “Nic Salt” is a term short for Nicotine Salt, which is the natural state of nicotine leaves. Their main advantage over normal E-Liquids are that they are the best form of combustible cigarette replication – in short, they’re the closest hit you can get to a real cigarette. Many vapers have the same issue – low nicotine levels doesn’t give them the same hit as a normal cigarette, and too high in nicotine is too harsh of a throat hit. Nic- Salts are the solution to this very problem, they are a great solution for people that are switching for the first time from smoking.

O

OHM

• OHM is a way of measuring electrical resistance. In vaping, ohm is used to measure the resistance of a coil. A greater resistance means less current and so coils will burn out slower, a lower résistance means more current and so coils will burn through quicker.

P

Priming

• Priming refers to priming a vape coil, this means saturating it with e-liquid before you use them. Learn more about priming coils.

PG

• PG is short for Propylene Glycol. PG is a synthetic liquid that is responsible for the thickness of your e-liquid. It is also responsible for the ‘throat hit’ of e-liquid, more PG will be harsher on the throat whilst less will be easier.

 

POD

• A pod holds e-liquid the same as a vape tank. These are usually disposable or refillable. Many starter kits will use pods.

R

RBA

• Rebuildable Atomizer

 

Resistance

• Resistance refers to the resistance a coil has and is measured in Ohm. The lower the resistance of a coil, the higher the amount of current flowing through it there is and visa versa.

 

RDA

• Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer – Requires user to manually drip liquid onto the coils and wicks.

 

RTA

• An RTA is a Rebuildable Tank Atomizer

S

Sub Ohm

• Devices that use a coil/atomizer of less than one OHM are known to be Sub-Ohm devices. The purpose of a sub-ohm device is to increase the power output of devices to create more vapour or flavour.

 

Shortfill

• A shortfill describes an e-liquid that has no nicotine in. Usually, a shortfill has space for nicotine to be added to the e-liquid in the bottle – for example, a 50ml e-liquid will have 10ml space to add nicotine. The most common sizes of shortfill are: 50ml/100ml/120ml/150ml

T

Tank

• A tank is the part of a vape kit that holds the e-liquid and usually the coils. Most tanks can be refilled with e-liquid. Often you can buy tanks on their own or as part of a kit.

 

TPD

• Tobacco Products Directive – This is the legislation that governs vaping in Europe and the UK to ensure vapers are kept safe.

V

VG

• VG is short for Vegetable Glycerin. VG is a liquid derived from vegetable oils that is responsible for the thickness of your e-liquid. It also produces the clouds of vapour so a higher VG will mean more vapour and usually richer flavour.

W

Wick

• A wick is the material that absorbs the e-liquid in a vaping coil – usually cotton is used to wick coils. When a wick is burnt out, your vape will taste burnt too. When it is fresh, you’ll get plenty of fresh flavour.