Which vape?

[Chris152]

I stopped smoking cigarettes about 20 years ago, but have recently been on the vapes. Using the pods costs a fortune, so I want to get one of the devices that you can refill with e-liquid. I just did some searches on which one is best to get but all the sites that come up are trying to sell their stock, rather than advise what's best.

Can anyone recommend what device to get? Ideally something that works with commonly available liquids.

Thanks, C

 

[TRITON]

I use a combination of a very basic AEQ 2.0, which has a small battery which you need to charge every couple of days, and shop bought disposable SKE Crystal Bar ones.
Nicotine salt is the choice liquid for me, as it tends to have a bit of flavour to it

Im going to buy the same type as the AEQ but with a x3 sized battery, because it gets a bit much having to make sure it is completely fully charged if i need to go out

I think there is too much to know about the different coils(that heat the liquid) types, different liquid types to do any sort of in depth advice about them - eg wire coil v flat plate, or nic salt v any other type liquid - where one gives better flavour, the other is a bit too mentholly. and TBH I dont really understand enough about it all.

But choice between disposable type or one you fill yourself is that the disposable type is about £5/day(as you seem to smoke one of that type per day), or the liquid, where a bottle costing a fiver lasts about a week.
Obviously far more economical to use and refill yourself with the liquid bottle

Currently I like the Elf Bar liquid as i initially bought the disposable elf bar vape, so opted for the liquid in the AEQ rechargeable just because it is familiar flavour.
https://www.vpz.co.uk/product/aeq-20-pod-device-kit

 

[Ollie78]

If you managed to give up the cigarettes the first time why have you decided to become addicted to something again ? Genuinely curious.
As a former smoker, giving up before my first child was born was one of the hardest things I ever had to do and took several attempts so thinking about being that addicted again and having to quit gives me the fear.

 

[Chris152]

If you managed to give up the cigarettes the first time why have you decided to become addicted to something again ? Genuinely curious.
As a former smoker, giving up before my first child was born was one of the hardest things I ever had to do and took several attempts so thinking about being that addicted again and having to quit gives me the fear.

I did do it again before I became ill, but in a limited way - since diagnosed with melanoma, I figure it's a pleasure I don't want to fight. Coffee and a cigarette (well, a vape), and imagine myself sat on the left bank reading Sartre...

 

[Chris152]

I use a combination of a very basic AEQ 2.0, which has a small battery which you need to charge every couple of days, and shop bought disposable SKE Crystal Bar ones.
Nicotine salt is the choice liquid for me, as it tends to have a bit of flavour to it

Im going to buy the same type as the AEQ but with a x3 sized battery, because it gets a bit much having to make sure it is completely fully charged if i need to go out

I think there is too much to know about the different coils(that heat the liquid) types, different liquid types to do any sort of in depth advice about them - eg wire coil v flat plate, or nic salt v any other type liquid - where one gives better flavour, the other is a bit too mentholly. and TBH I dont really understand enough about it all.

But choice between disposable type or one you fill yourself is that the disposable type is about £5/day(as you seem to smoke one of that type per day), or the liquid, where a bottle costing a fiver lasts about a week.
Obviously far more economical to use and refill yourself with the liquid bottle

Currently I like the Elf Bar liquid as i initially bought the disposable elf bar vape, so opted for the liquid in the AEQ rechargeable just because it is familiar flavour.
https://www.vpz.co.uk/product/aeq-20-pod-device-kit

Thanks. Is there a generic term for the kind of device that uses liquids rather than pods?

 

[TRITON]

If you managed to give up the cigarettes the first time why have you decided to become addicted to something again ? Genuinely curious.
As a former smoker, giving up before my first child was born was one of the hardest things I ever had to do and took several attempts so thinking about being that addicted again and having to quit gives me the fear.

The best way of putting it is you dont give up the nicotine addiction, what you do is remove the myriad of harmful chemicals in cigarettes as well as removing the tar and resin that accumulates in your lungs from smoking cigarettes.

I moved to vape because i had to stop for health reasons brought about from smoking cigarettes too long - probably 30 years.
At that point climbing a flight of stairs had become difficult and left me breathless.
9 months into giving up cigarettes and moving to vape theres been a vast improvement and im no longer breathless climbing stairs or any other task.

As has been often pointed out, swopping from cigarette to vape doesnt remove all the risks, but probably reduces them by 90% and its the lack of tar and resin that the real benefits lie.

 

[TRITON]

Thanks. Is there a generic term for the kind of device that uses liquids rather than pods?

Not that im aware of. But im not sure theres any definitive term or name other than the rechargeable type uses liquid, so asking for one of those will mean you need buy the liquid. TBH a vape shop would be the best place for advice.

Actually thinking on it maybe 'refillable' is the only or best descriptive

 

[Chris152]

Reading around, I had to laugh - there are vapes for 'beginners', 'all experience levels' and 'Intermediate to advanced vapers'. What on earth is an advanced vaper, sounds almost glamorous, like you've achieved something significant!

 

[Bingy man]

Given the hordes of children and young people who have never smoked a cigarette but actively vape I personally hope that I years to come they don’t discover that vapes are actually not as safe as suggested. The older members myself included will recall the advertising and encouragement to smoke . I’m told doctors used to smoke in hospitals as they treated you. As well as actors in movies etc . I get the lack of nicotine and tar and carbon monoxide etc but what’s not known is ghe worry imo ( x smoker of 30 yrs ) when I gave up I was on between 20 -30 per day . Now smoke and vape free ..

 

[woodieallen]

Chris....ask yourself, why have you started ?

 

[Windows]

Nicotine is a poison. No product that causes users to inhale nicotine is safe. Vapes contain nicotine, Bingy Man. But it’s worse than that, because propylene glycol is also not safe to inhale. Vapes have bad effects on skin too (look up vape face).

 

[Spectric]

Swapping one poison for another is not progress, from initial reading it is moving away from lung cancer to throat and tongue cancer. These vapes are going to be just as bad as smoking but with different outcomes along the way but the end game will be the same.

 

[graham88]

There's a gov initiative called swap 2 stop. One of the guys at work signed up to it, got a free refillable vape and 10x 10ml bottles of liquid. Not sure if you'll get the same service where you are but the site near me is www.livewelldorset.co.uk/swap-2-stop/ if you want info. They never seem to require evidence that you smoke, just your word for it.

 

[Bingy man]

When i decided to stop I thought about vapes but decided it would become another habit so tried patches but I had a bad reaction to them so did the cold turkey method. 1 of the hardest things I’ve ever done but health , my son, and lack of money was telling me to keep going . I wish I’d done it years ago but such is life .

 

[artie]

44 years now without a cigarette.

I started as a child in Primary school, and continued until I was 24, when I acquired a wife and child and then another child.
I found cigarettes were not a priority..

I can't think of anything that would induce me to put a cigarette or a vape in my mouth.

Thinking back to the movies and TV programmes of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, they were just one long ad for cigarettes and alcohol. so it's no wonder so many people got hooked.

 

[TRITON]

propylene glycol is also not safe to inhale.

Propylene glycol is generally regarded as safe for human consumption, but there are some potential health risks associated with its use in e-cigarettes and vape juices. It is also believed to possibly irritate the throat and lungs due to its thin composition, although this has not been definitively proven.

When I say 'generally regarded' i certainly dont arrive at that conclusion from a get together down the local pub. It is generally regarded by the health authorities.

I think in life there are a lot of substances that people consume that are in relation unsafe. The top of the list there would be alcohol, which is a known poison, then we have caffeine, sugar, certain e-numbers but also things that people dont take through choice, namely pollution, from industry and more specifically vehicles.

If the argument for not vaping is that it is because of the ingredients, the same aspects of the argument must be placed onto the other harmful substances - alcohol, etc etc. But more so on things like pollutants.

Some might ask - Oh why do you vape ? or smoke ? when those are bad for your health and possibly for others around you, to which I could reply, Why do you make me breathe the fumes off your car/van/spacecraft when there are other non polluting options available.

So we all do things that are far from healthy for us, but in the case of vaping versus smoking cigarettes, vaping produces little to no effect on other people.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I can empathise - if the future is limited it does not matter what poisons one might indulge in - alcohol. tobacco. recreational drugs.

It is about making the final weeks, months, years as satisfying and comfortable as possible. Indulging in that which gives pleasure even after a lifetime of abstention (for good reasons) is fine.

Personally recreational drugs seem a goer to me in those circumstances having tried the tobacco and alcohol alternatives.

I stopped smoking over 20 years ago following enforced cold turkey due to a 3 week hospital stay. It just seemed daft to start again having gone through the worst and now would not contemplate a single puff. It is a drug and I do not want the challenge of renewed addiction.

 

[Windows]

Propylene glycol is generally regarded as safe for human consumption, but there are some potential health risks associated with its use in e-cigarettes and vape juices. It is also believed to possibly irritate the throat and lungs due to its thin composition, although this has not been definitively proven.

When I say 'generally regarded' i certainly dont arrive at that conclusion from a get together down the local pub. It is generally regarded by the health authorities.

I think in life there are a lot of substances that people consume that are in relation unsafe. The top of the list there would be alcohol, which is a known poison, then we have caffeine, sugar, certain e-numbers but also things that people dont take through choice, namely pollution, from industry and more specifically vehicles.

If the argument for not vaping is that it is because of the ingredients, the same aspects of the argument must be placed onto the other harmful substances - alcohol, etc etc. But more so on things like pollutants.

Some might ask - Oh why do you vape ? or smoke ? when those are bad for your health and possibly for others around you, to which I could reply, Why do you make me breathe the fumes off your car/van/spacecraft when there are other non polluting options available.

So we all do things that are far from healthy for us, but in the case of vaping versus smoking cigarettes, vaping produces little to no effect on other people.

I agree with a lot of your points about alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and other pollutants.

But “being safe for human consumption” is a red herring: cheese is regarded as safe for human consumption, but we don’t encourage people to inhale cheese. Liquid ingestion through oral/gastro route is not the same as vapor inhalation through the lungs.

 

[RonnieI]

Swapping one poison for another is not progress, from initial reading it is moving away from lung cancer to throat and tongue cancer. These vapes are going to be just as bad as smoking but with different outcomes along the way but the end game will be the same.

I think 'popcorn lung' will also become a major problem. Propylrne glycol is a potent irritant so I'm guessing in years to come we're going to see a lot more lung fibrosis.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

Back to the question of which vape -
I have had several since I gave up 40+ unfiltered roll ups a day, and generally they are pretty much all the same. My current one is a vaporesso and I only bought that because it was on clearance, and it's fine. I must have had 8 or 9 different ones in the last 12 years, and am happy to just buy a cheapish one when I need a new one.
Because I'm not really into it, in other words i don't get all techy about it, I actually prefer a simpler one and also go for a less 'in your face' design.
I prefer vapes that can take 2 rechargeable batteries, and my tank was one that had the ability to buy a bigger volume extension so i don't need to fill it several times a day.