Switchtober Tips!

If you’re considering switching to e-cigs to go smokefree or you’ve already started vaping to cut down on smoking cigarettes, we’ve got three key points that will help you ensure you make a successful switch to e-cigarettes!

With professional health organizations including Public Health England, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation citing e-cigarettes as a proven popular method for going smokefree, it’s highly likely that you’re considering making the switch from traditional tobacco cigarettes to e cigs to kick the habit. As part of our Switchtober campaign, we’re offering support for any smoker using vaping devices to quit or cut back on smoking during Stoptober and today’s blog focuses on three ways you can stay committed to giving up with e-cigarettes.

Remove the temptation

Hiding your cigarettes may seem like an obvious suggestion but considering smoking is a daily, hourly and, in some cases, even more frequent habit for many, totally removing cigarettes from your life with immediate effect is probably the last thing you want to do. Although it’s recommended to give up habits in small steps, locking your cigarettes away can be an aggressive yet very effective way to curb all temptation and steer your attention towards your vape kit.

If your aim is to go ‘cold turkey’, cutting out smoking completely then this approach could work for you. However, if your aim is to cut down gradually or you have tried this approach already and found it to be unsuccessful, consider allocating yourself a specific amount of cigarettes per day; less than you would usually smoke, using your e-cig to replace those additional cigarettes you would usually be smoking, then gradually cut the amount of cigarettes down even further by using your vape pen more regularly each week.

Try different products

Professor Peter Hajek of Queen Mary University London recently stated that ‘smokers differ in their needs and I would advise them not to give up on e-cigarettes if they do not like the first one they try. It may take some experimentation with different products and e-juice to find the right one’. Adding to this it is worth remembering to research a product before you buy it. There are hundreds of devices from different manufacturers flooding this rapidly expanding market and it would be too easy to pick one that’s unreliable or unenjoyable to use.

To avoid this, we recommend reading plenty of online reviews and allowing yourself a budget that allows you to invest in a quality vaping kit rather than a poor quality, low cost vaping kit that is likely to break or feel unpleasant to use, causing you to slip back into your smoking habit. Our very own FUSE starter kit (£30 with a spare battery and 3 e liquids throughout October) has been the subject of many excellent reviews and won in the Best Tank category at the 2016 Vapouround Awards!

It is also highly worth applying these points to finding the right e juice. Most vape shops should feature a tasting station where you can try before you buy and we advise you to try as many liquids as possible. There’s a mind-boggling range of flavours and variants out there and if you start off with a cheap, poorly manufactured liquid then you could be compromising both your enjoyment in terms of flavour and the throat hit which any quality e-liquid should provide in order to simulate the effect of smoking.

Find the right nicotine level

If you’re new to using e cigarettes, finding the right nicotine level to simulate your daily nicotine intake is imperative to helping you quit. E liquid is available in various strengths and to get off to the best possible start you need to identify the correct strength of juice to start with. Many vapers choose to gradually wean themselves off nicotine completely by gradually switching to liquids with lower nicotine levels.

We recommend the following nicotine levels:

• I smoke over 30 cigarettes a day - recommended nicotine strength: 24mg/ml
• I smoke 20-25 cigarettes a day - recommended nicotine strength: 18mg/ml
• I smoke 10-20 cigarettes a day - recommended nicotine strength: 12mg/ml
• I smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day - recommended nicotine strength: 6mg/ml
• I don’t smoke. I just want to blow juicy clouds! - recommended nicotine strength: 0mg/ml

Stay tuned for more helpful vaping blogs and social media motivation! You’ll also find further information about vaping on our New to Vaping? page.