Nicotine is a vital part of any electronic cigarette e-liquid, especially if you’re trying to quit smoking. It’s a molecule that’s extracted from tobacco and belongs to the alkaloid family. Beginner vapers often wonder about its use in vaping.
Some of you may want to know everything about electronic cigarette liquids and what role they play in order to confidently tackle your smoking withdrawal.
Here’s everything you need to know about the nicotine inside your little e-liquid bottles!
What is nicotine?
As we said above, nicotine is an organic compound extracted from tobacco leaves. It’s classed as a psychoactive substance, meaning it directly impacts the brain.
It does this by interacting with the neurons, binding itself to the nicotinic receptors in the same way acetylcholine does, creating a feeling of pleasure or relaxation, and ultimately, an addiction. This is the well-known phenomenon of the reward system.
How is vaping nicotine made?
The nicotine used in e-liquid making is extracted from the leaves of two tobacco varieties in particular: Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotina rustica.
This produces an extract with a nicotine content that varies between 2 and 10%, depending on the tobacco varieties. However, manufacturers then refine this nicotine sulphate extract to meet the pharmaceutical-grade standard of 99.5%.
It’s this method that produces the liquid nicotine that goes in our electronic cigarette e-liquids.
Moreover, you can now find in France a 100% French vaping nicotine, designed and developed by Vincent Dans Les Vapes (VDLV). Following the ‘green chemistry’ principles, the French manufacturer extracts a type of nicotine that’s specifically intended for inhaling.
Adding to this, they harvest a specific variety of tobacco in France. So, their nicotine is entirely French, through and through, and of great quality!
Is nicotine dangerous for your health?
Unfortunately, nicotine is often misunderstood and mistakenly held responsible for tobacco’s dangerousness, but it isn’t the case. The biggest threat is actually the tobacco’s combustion, as the smoke contains several thousand carcinogenic substances, responsible for all smoking-related illnesses. Nicotine, for its part, is only responsible for the addiction to cigarettes, but let's break it down together.
Standard nicotine consumption
As we’ve just seen, the nicotine itself isn’t dangerous when you smoke tobacco. It’s the combustion that’s behind all the problems.
Seeing as electronic cigarettes function without combusting at all, they’re a very effective solution for quitting smoking. Indeed, when using the former, you only inhale the nicotine. This nicotine only creates a dependency, which is why many tobacco substitutes such as patches and gums contain nicotine to ease the withdrawal process.
However, know that nicotine can increase heart rate and blood pressure. Therefore, people with cardiovascular diseases should avoid consuming it.
Nicotine overdosing
Nicotine can be dangerous and even fatal if you ingest a very strong dose of it. For this dose to be lethal, an adult would have to ingest more than 0.5g of nicotine. The e-liquids available today can only contain a maximum dosage of 20mg/ml, as the European TPD states. Thus, an adult would have to ingest 2.5 bottles of e-liquid at this maximum level to put his or her life in danger.
Although lethal doses are hard to reach for an adult, you should still be careful around others. Store your e-liquids out of children and pets' reach, just to be safe, as they would be affected by a nicotine ingestion.
Nicotine and addiction
As we said, nicotine isn't dangerous in and of itself, but it is partially responsible for smokers' tobacco addictions.
Indeed, nicotine interacts with certain neurotransmitters in the brain that release dopamine, which is linked to pleasure. Then, the 'reward circuit' kicks in and improves your mood, thus creating the addiction.
Moreover, nicotine is known to increase reaction time and improve concentration. When the body is deprived of its nicotine intake, it'll show withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and even depression. Naturally, the body will crave more nicotine so that the brain can release more dopamine and feel good again.
However, with classic cigarettes, nicotine isn't the only thing responsible for the addiction. Tobacco smoke contains several thousand substances, of which some would increase the nicotine's addictive capacity by using monoamine oxidase enzymes. The latter would deteriorate some neurotransmitters and produce a greater release of dopamine, thus making tobacco more addictive.
Finally, the way you consume the nicotine plays a role in how addicted you get. Indeed, a cigarette delivers a higher quantity of nicotine and at a faster rate than an electronic cigarette does.
What part does nicotine play in e-liquids?
Nicotine plays two roles in your electronic cigarette liquids. Obviously, its main role is to replace the nicotine you used to get through tobacco cigarettes. We know that the latter are particularly detrimental to your health, whereas an electronic cigarette is proven to be 95% safer than tobacco.
Vaping allows you to satisfy your nicotine craving, whilst gradually quitting smoking and avoiding the dangers caused by the tobacco's combustion. Moreover, vaping is better at imitating the feeling of smoking with a cigarette than other nicotine substitutes. Your body is more easily 'fooled' by electronic cigarettes and thus reacts much better to them than with another substitute. This is what makes them the most effective smoking withdrawal tool in Europe today.
The other effect of nicotine is that it produces a phenomenon known as 'throat hit', which is a muscular contraction in your larynx when the vapour passes through. This tingling feeling is much enjoyed by smokers, and only an electronic cigarette can replicate it, via its nicotined e-liquid. You can get the same enjoyment with an ecig. Therefore, nicotine is crucial when trying to quit with a personal vapouriser.
And finally, the higher the nicotine content of your e-liquid is, the stronger the hit will be. This is why it's important to find the correct nicotine level when you start using an electronic cigarette.
Lowering your nicotine level
As we said before, nicotine is more rapidly absorbed and released with a tobacco cigarette than with an electronic cigarette. Therefore, if your goal is to quit smoking, you must pick a sufficiently high level of nicotine to use with your electronic cigarette.
After that, it's up to you to lower your nicotine level when you feel it appropriate or necessary. Keep in mind that there's no obligation to quickly lower your nicotine level. It's best to take your time, that way you'll stand a better chance of saying goodbye to tobacco forever!
Start by finding the right equipment and e-liquid for your particular needs. Then, gradually lower your nicotine content when you feel ready to do so. Then, take time to get used to your new nicotine level. This can take several days or several weeks, it depends on the user.
Always remember to trust your instincts. If you feel a craving, it means that your nicotine level is too low. To remedy this, slightly increase the dosage and you'll feel satisfied again. Know that some vapers consume more e-liquid when they lower their nicotine content. If this happens to you, it might mean that it isn't yet time for you to lower your level. It's by adjusting and mastering both of these parameters that you'll be successful in your tobacco withdrawal.
Does nicotine cause sleep problems?
Scientists haven't clearly determined what impact nicotine has on our sleep patterns yet. However, many studies tend to show a correlation between the two. Indeed, nicotine is famously known to be a stimulant, so it could disrupt sleep, notably by impacting the body's serotonin and dopamine production.
It is also well known that smokers who are withdrawing from tobacco may feel certain symptoms when they get a craving. However, these symptoms aren't directly linked to the nicotine itself, but rather to the fact that smokers tend to consume more alcohol and caffeine than non-smokers do.
In short, the nicotine consumed with an electronic cigarette is not enough to cause sleeping disorders.
Nicotine salt e-liquids
Nicotine salt eliquids have only recently arrived on the vaping market, but they've managed to win over more and more vapers over the years. What exactly are these liquids?
Nicotine salt is a type of nicotine that's much closer to the one found in tobacco plants. As it has a different acidity from the nicotine traditionally used in e-liquids, it produces different effects. To give you an idea, it feels much more like a mild cigarette.
With nicotine salt e-liquids, your body absorbs the nicotine at a much faster rate than with the 'normal' e-cigarette nicotine. This can be helpful for some users, as they won't have to increase their nicotine level or the power of their kit to compensate for an otherwise lacking nicotine content.
This is a very effective solution if you rapidly need that nicotine intake, but it does have a small drawback, though. Nicotine salts offer a weaker throat hit, and some vapers absolutely need a strong hit. In the end, the best way to find out if nicotine salts are made for you is to try them out!
The legislation surrounding nicotine e-liquids
Since the 1st of January 2017, tobacco products (which unfortunately includes electronic cigarettes and e-liquids sold with nicotine in them) are subject to the European Tobacco Products Directive, or TPD.
This directive states that nicotined e-liquids can only be sold in bottles of maximum 10ml. E-cigarettes with pre-filled cartridges are limited to just 2ml, and the maximum nicotine content you can buy is 20mg/ml.
All of these laws strictly regulate the e-liquid market in Europe and France and, by extension, all other electronic cigarette products.
More info on electronic cigarette e-liquids :
- How to change your electronic cigarette's liquid with ease
- Why does an e-liquid turn brown? Everything you need to know about this natural phenomenon.
- Find out why some e liquids wear out coils faster
- Can you vape a liquid after its Best-Before date?
- What is diacetyl and why was it so controversial back in the day?