You’ve researched the best vape kits, got to grips with vaping for beginners and know the difference between direct to lung and mouth to lung vaping. But how much do you know about what is in vape juice?
If you’ve turned to vaping as a way to quit or cut back on smoking, knowing what is in your vape juice is important to safely and fully enjoy your vape experience.
Today’s e-liquids come in a staggering array of flavours, which means you’ll be sure to find something you can use as an all-day-vape (ADV).
Read on for our guide to what is in vape juice.
What is vape juice?
Vape juice, also known as e-liquid or e-juice, is the flavoured liquid that vapers add to the vape tank of their chosen vape kit.
When you take a hit from your vape, the coil heats up the vape juice and turns it into vapour for you to inhale. Without vape juice, you would have nothing to inhale from your vape.
Vapers can choose from a wide variety of flavours including fruit flavours, menthol and tobacco flavours or flavourless e-liquid. Finding your preferred flavour can take time and experimentation but with Vape Town’s wide range of vape juice brands and flavours, you’re sure to find your ideal vape juice.
Nicotine strengths in vape juice
Vape juice, or e-liquids, are available with nicotine or in nicotine-free formulations (nic-free).
Due to restrictions brought in as part of the Tobacco Products Directive, there are now limits on how much nicotine a vape juice can contain. E-liquids premixed with nicotine are available in 3mg, 6mg, 12mg or 18mg strengths.
However, it is also possible to customise your vape juice to your own preferred nicotine strength.
Nic shots and nic salts can be added to shortfill vape juices to reach your preferred nicotine strength. You can read more about nic salts and how to use them in our Vape Town guide to nic salts.
What is in vape juice?
As we’ve already said, vape juice is a liquid that you add to the tank of your vape kit.
The e-liquid is usually made up of four ingredients; Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), food-grade flavourings and, sometimes, nicotine.
Different vape juices contain different ratios of these ingredients depending on the formulation. Depending on the flavour of your chosen vape juice, you may see other ingredients listed on the packaging of your e-liquid, but these will be components of the flavouring.
Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerine (VG) form the base of your vape juice, often in a 50:50 or 70:30 ratio, although there are also pure PG or VG e-liquids available. These liquids are then combined with flavourings and sometimes nicotine to enhance the vape experience.
The synthetic flavourings used in vape juice are all safe for human consumption and are found in other products such as sweets and drinks.
It is necessary to use synthetic flavourings in e-liquids rather than natural flavourings because they are much stronger tasting. Natural flavourings wouldn’t be noticeable once combined with vape liquid and heated to produce the vapour that you ultimately inhale.
For vapers who need a hit of nicotine with their vape, some vape juices have premixed nicotine included in the liquid, though this isn’t always the case. Be sure to check whether the e-liquid you are purchasing contains nicotine at your preferred strength before buying to avoid disappointment.
What is the difference between Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerine (VG)?
As the two main ingredients in your vape juice, apart from the flavouring of your choice, it’s important to know what Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerine (VG) are.
The liquids have the same function, providing a solution for the flavourings and nicotine to mix with in your e-liquid. But, the two liquids have slightly different characteristics.
What is Propylene Glycol (PG)?
Propylene Glycol is an organic chemical compound, it is colourless and odourless which makes it perfect for mixing with flavourings for a great tasting vape experience.
It is a low viscosity liquid, which means it’s quite runny and thin. This is different from Vegetable Glycerine which is thicker and more syrupy in consistency.
Propylene Glycol isn’t just found in vape juice, it is also used to carry flavour in food products, as an ingredient in food colouring, and also as an additive in certain medicines.
PG is the ingredient that provides the throat hit sensation that new vapers look for. When heated by the coil in your vape tank, the Propylene Glycol evaporates, along with the flavourings contained in the e-liquid.
Propylene Glycol is non-toxic and is proven to be safe for use by humans.
What is Vegetable Glycerine (VG)?
Vegetable Glycerine is an all-natural, sweet, vegetable-based liquid. You can tell VG apart from PG by its thicker, more viscous consistency.
Because of its thicker consistency, pure VG vape juice is better for creating big clouds of vapour. It’s also smoother on the throat.
Vegetable Glycerine is non-toxic and is proven to be safe for use by humans.
Which vape juice to choose?
The vape juice you choose will depend on your individual needs as a vaper. For beginners, it’s recommended to choose a combined PG and VG e-liquid, this will give you satisfying throat hit and strong flavour pay off.
The nicotine strength you opt for will depend on your previous smoking habit if you are using vaping to quit smoking. Our guide to nicotine strength can help you with that choice.
When it comes to flavours, you should have a general idea of what flavours you’d like based on your personal tastes. If you have a sweet tooth and like fruit flavours, then a fruity e-liquid could be for you. Or, if you prefer something smoother and less fresh, then a coffee or bakery flavoured vape juice might be better.
Ultimately, finding the right flavour vape juice is a bit of trial and error. But, with our multi-buy offers across many of our e-liquids, you can get a great deal on a huge range of flavours.
Always vape responsibly
We are here to help you and we want to be sure that you know how to get the best from your e-liquid and vaping equipment. The e-liquid that we sell is TPD regulated and chosen for its high-quality ingredients. However, Vape Town cannot be held responsible for any side effects from unsuitable nicotine levels.
If you have questions about the best way to switch from smoking to vaping, don’t hesitate to contact us.