Attempting to lower Nicotine strength!!

[silentscream]

I've had a dilemma ever since I started vaping. 24mg is too much and 18mg is not enough. I know what you're all going to say: DIY. I will do that eventually but I am a bit OCD about handling nicotine. Even premade if I spill some I wonder where it's gone and have to clean it up straight away lol.

I was fine though on 24 for the first three weeks then I got all jittery and couldn't concentrate on stuff. I still vape 24 I just don't do it all the time, mostly 18 now. After two months I still haven't found the nicotine 'sweet spot' but I haven't had a single cig and no desire to have one either and I really can't argue with that

[lobeydosser]

I OD'ed on nicotine today, thanks to receiving my first Fasttech order which was 2 Rocket Rebuildable Atomizers.
By gum but did I OD!!!!
I have never had it so bad as that.
So that is something I will need to watch out for in future. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that.

Although I wear my E-cig on a lanyard and can toke away on it all day, when I am working in my workshop, I still stop and take a fag break every so often. Okay it is really an e-cig break, but I do enjoy getting away from what I am doing and sitting down to just toke and think/dream.

Now, as to cutting down, well, I have at least 6 years supply of nic base and flavouring stashed in my freezer and I would hope that by the time I am finished that, the EU will have seen some sense and realised that the freedom of choice of its inhabitants is far more important than the profits of a couple of greedy industries.

I can but dream.

[keepitgoin]

Like I said, the messing about is as important as the Nicotine!

[chykensa]

I'm sat here now typing with a glass of wine and my 8mg Caramel Blend, and am quite satisfied. It's really interesting hearing how other folk have coped with their nic levels, and how they have cut down, or moderated, over the course of time.
I would like to cut down a bit more but am in no hurry. James and I are mixing at the weekend now we've got enough nic base to float a boat in, and we have agreed to mix at 10mg rather than our usual 12mg. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
I also intend to make some really tasty juice at about 4mg to use last thing at night; I am guessing that the tastiness of the juice will distract me from the lack of nicotine in it!
I'll report back

[xs2man]

When I started, I did so on 36mg.  Kept at this level for a couple months, then when I started mixing my own, I came down to 28.  Then 24, and I am now at 20.

I do have some eliquid that I got from the classifieds, that are generally between 16 and 18, and I'm fine with them also.  Next batch I make up will be at 16 probably.

I have enough nic base on the way to last me 5.5 years at 18mg, or 9 years at 11mg.  So I think I'm set for my vaping career, lol.  Of course, I'll need a full litre of concentrate, at a minimum, so as long as I can still get that, I'll be okay.

As for what it does for me?  I still smoke when I'm offshore, not because I want to, but because ecigs are banned.  NRT isn't gonna touch the sides for me, and besides, patches and stuff make me dizzy, not what you want when your working on an oil rig.  So I smoke.  And I can live with it, because I know, as soon as I get back on the beach, I'm back to vaping straight away.

So, in actuality, I'm only vaping around 2/3 of the time, which means I can add an extra 1/3 time to how long my nic base will last, lol.  So 12 years.  But by then, I'm hoping to be nic free realistically.  Will I keep on vaping then?  Depends on the legal status of them at the time.  However, irrespective of this legal status until then, I shall continue to vape away happily.

[poochops]

I've slowly dropped ours from 24 and 18mg premixed at first, I started home brewing at 18mg, a few months later went to 15, then 12, now we're (me and mrs poo) vaping through my last batch which was about 500mls of various flavours in 10mg. I've noticed the difference during the first week or so of each drop but not so much as it's bothered me, I just Vaped a bit more at first.

Here's the thing though, I only told Lynn the other day that I was mixing 10mg and had been reducing it for 6 months and she hadn't noticed at all, she said it hadn't even occurred to her that I'd been making it weaker! And she used to smoke thirty a day!

[silentscream]

Dec 13, 2013 0:13:31 GMT poochops said:

I've slowly dropped ours from 24 and 18mg premixed at first, I started home brewing at 18mg, a few months later went to 15, then 12, now we're (me and mrs poo) vaping through my last batch which was about 500mls of various flavours in 10mg. I've noticed the difference during the first week or so of each drop but not so much as it's bothered me, I just Vaped a bit more at first.

Here's the thing though, I only told Lynn the other day that I was mixing 10mg and had been reducing it for 6 months and she hadn't noticed at all, she said it hadn't even occurred to her that I'd been making it weaker! And she used to smoke thirty a day!

A lot of it is definitely psychological but the difference when I went down to 18 was massive for me. It was like I was waiting for something to happen that just didn't. I've ordered a few liquids from LT at 20mg it will be interesting to see if that little leap up makes all the difference.

[boyofford]

I started at 18mg and it was fine, but I really got a taste for vaping quickly and started vaping more and more so dropped my nic to 12mg and can vape more without getting to much nic,
I've got some 8mg as well which can vape all day but where I'm in situations where can vape as and when I want/need to I have to go back to 18mg as a quick hit of 12mg/8mg just wont stop my cravings for long enough.

I carry multiple flavours and nic strengths around with me so can tailor to situation, e.g. other day was on day course with breaks every couple of hours, had vape in first break of 8mg, sure I vaped a ml 10 minutes lol and it just didn't cut it, so swapped up to 18mg at next break as was a wreck and rest of day was fine.

My mate vaped 18mg to start with then moved abruptly to 6 or 8mg as he wanted to force himself to cut down, he doesn't keep much kit or juices and now he is smoking again as well as vaping
The moral...Don't rush to cut down if your not ready!

[keepitgoin]

I have wondered why the drop off from 18mg Nicotine strength down to 12mg Nicotine strength is standard for MOST pre-mixed juice, thats a drop of 33%, or am I missing something??

[boyofford]

For most juice suppliers strengths fall in six times table, have wondered same myself, maybe easier to mix down from most common base strength which is 72mg

[boyofford]

Bored so thought I'd work out ratio of base nic strength to eliquid strength

72mg:36mg = 2:1
72mg:24mg = 3:1
72mg:18mg = 4:1
72mg:12mg = 6:1
72mg:6mg = 12:1

The fact they are nice easy ratios definitely backs up this idea for me, but I'm still a newbie and yet to mix my own so hopefully someone will confirm or correct what I've said lol.

[Deleted]

I had a few cigs yesterday (actually bought half an ounce)...first two made me throw up. Last 3 just made me think of upping my nicotine. I am forever trying to get my nic concentration down. I have a blog on it on blogs if you want to read my ups and downs. I got to about 5 or 6mg/ml this time and that's in the middle of winter when it's dark at 3.15

I'm now on 10. Would be good to get down to 8 or 7 within a few weeks then sit there till March. I tried 12 but it was just too strong...

I mix my own. Makes sense. The odd nic on my hands doesn't bother me. I've had worse (like a whole tank on my hands when making home made tanks 2 years ago). I have baby wipes. They fix most things

[lobeydosser]

I feel that there are more to cigarettes V vaping than just the Nicotine.

After all, the ONLY common denominator is the Nicotine.

If someone is still smoking cigarettes and still trying to get on to vaping, perhaps it is more to do with one of the other 2,500 chemicals in a cigarette, some of which are undoubtedly addictive.

Many try e-cigs but find they are just not for them and go back to smoking. In this case it is more than just the nicotine that they are addicted to and no upping of the nicotine levels will satisfy their cravings.

Lets face it, e-cigs are not the complete answer as an alternative to smoking. They are a good alternative and they do work for most people, but, as yet, they are not 100% there yet.

[remnant]

I spent my first six months using a cig-alike and pre-filled, generic tobacco flavour "high strength" (16mg!) cartos - the way most of us started, of course. It was more pleasant to me than smoking, and it was cheaper, and I was never tempted to go back - but it wasn't "vaping", as I currently undertand it; it was just a substitute for smoking.
So I'd put smoking six months behind me when I started vaping. I vaped at 16mg because I already knew I could cope, without stress, at that level, and I haven't changed that in the nearly five months since.
I'm mixing about half of the juice I vape, but when I buy commercial juice, I get it at 24mg and dilute to 16 or 18mg, according to flavour strength. Occasionally, I feel like a palpable nicotine rush, and I'll fill a dripper with 24mg, those occasions are increasingly rare, and I never feel like I need more than one dripper's worth of that.
I wouldn't discount the possibility that I'll edge my nic strength down, but I doubt I'll ever take it to zero, and I'm not in any hurry. It isn't broken, so why fix it? I'm much more interested in improving / optimizing the experience.

[remnant]

I spent my first six months using a cig-alike and pre-filled, generic tobacco flavour "high strength" (16mg!) cartos - the way most of us started, of course. It was more pleasant to me than smoking, and it was cheaper, and I was never tempted to go back - but it wasn't "vaping", as I currently undertand it; it was just a substitute for smoking.
So I'd put smoking six months behind me when I started vaping. I vaped at 16mg because I already knew I could cope, without stress, at that level, and I haven't changed that in the nearly five months since.
I'm mixing about half of the juice I vape, but when I buy commercial juice, I get it at 24mg and dilute to 16 or 18mg, according to flavour strength. Occasionally, I feel like a palpable nicotine rush, and I'll fill a dripper with 24mg, those occasions are increasingly rare, and I never feel like I need more than one dripper's worth of that.
I wouldn't discount the possibility that I'll edge my nic strength down, but I doubt I'll ever take it to zero, and I'm not in any hurry. It isn't broken, so why fix it? I'm much more interested in improving / optimizing the experience.