E-Liquid Nicotine Strengths Guide

Some of the information in the following blog is based on external, third party sources and is for educational/informational purposes only. Such content is not intended to be representative of the products sold on this website.

If you’re using vaping products already, you’re probably more than likely using e-liquids which have been pre-mixed to a specific nicotine strength. E-liquid strengths can vary for many reasons. Read on to learn more about e-liquid strengths, and also to learn about another alternative to smoking.

What is nicotine strength?

E-liquids are available in varying nicotine strengths. Nicotine strength is either shown in percentages or mg on e-liquid containers. Some vapers choose to mix their own e-liquids to achieve their desired nicotine strength.

Vapers may choose to use higher nicotine strength liquids, for example if they were heavy smokers before switching to vaping. Others might choose to use lower nicotine strength, or nicotine free liquids, if they are working towards reducing nicotine consumption.

What vape nicotine levels should I use?

If you’re wondering what e-liquid strength is right for you, our table below provides some comparisons as a starting point you may want to consider.

This gives a guide as to the vape liquid strengths that could be comparable to the number of cigarettes you’re used to smoking. Our comparison here references nicotine strengths that are regularly available in the UK in pre-mixed e-liquids.

You will also find a comparison versus Heated Tobacco, another better alternative to smoking which heats tobacco rather than burning it. We’ve shown the equivalent in HEETS nicotine level, the tobacco sticks used in the market leading heated tobacco system, IQOS*.

Nicotine strength chart

 

Smoking

Number of cigarettes smoked per day

Vaping

Equivalent vape nicotine strength 

Heated Tobacco

Equivalent number of HEETS 
1-5
3mg 
1-5
5-10
6mg
5-10
10-16
12mg
10-15
15-20
18mg
15-20
20+
20mg 
20+

As the table shows, the more cigarettes you are accustomed to smoking, the higher the nicotine strength you are likely to need from your e-liquid in order to provide a similar level of satisfaction.

As you’ll also see from the above visual, the number of HEETS tobacco sticks required to provide a similar level of nicotine satisfaction will remain similar to the number of cigarettes you are accustomed to smoking.

HEETS are available in packs of 20, the same as cigarettes, meaning you’ll always know how many you’ve used and how many you have left.

Heated tobacco - another better alternative to smoking

IQOS heats real tobacco to a controlled temperature instead of burning it to release real tobacco taste and nicotine.

Switching completely to IQOS is a better alternative than continuing to smoke. IQOS emits 95% less harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.** You can find out more about IQOS here.

Important Information: It does not necessarily equal a 95% reduction in risk. These products are not risk-free.

*Source: PMI global estimate of total In-Market Sales of Heated Tobacco Units as of December 2019. (excluding China and US).

**”95% less” represents the average reductions in levels of a range of harmful chemicals (excluding nicotine) compared to the smoke of a reference cigarette. See Important Information on IQOS.com.

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Learn about heated tobacco
Learn about heated tobacco

What is heated tobacco?

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