You have made the decision to ditch cigarettes and use vapes instead. It is one of the most important steps that you can take towards a healthier future. You might have been smoking for years, on and off. By now, its effects on you will be noticeable by both you and those around you.
Giving up smoking is a commendable effort, but it is not as simple as putting down a cigarette, starting vaping, and never coming back to smoking again. You need to have a clear picture of your current smoking habits, a why behind stopping smoking, a practical vape kit, and a strategy to stay away from cigarettes.
This vaping 101 aims to be a complete guide to any smoker out there who wants to switch from smoking to vaping, but is entirely new to all things vapes and e-liquids. With it, our goal is to equip you with comprehensive knowledge of vaping, not as a hobbyist, but as someone who is actively doing their best to use this tool to stop smoking once and for all.
Why Vaping is the Best Smoking Cessation Tool
Smokers try various quit-smoking alternatives like nicotine patches with varying degrees of success. But none is as effective at keeping smokers away from cigarettes as vaping. Its safety and efficacy are backed by various bodies, including the NHS and Public Health England. Vaping is a significantly less harmful alternative to smoking cigarettes.
Public Health England, for example, says that e-cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than tobacco. The most important difference from smoking is that there is no combustion involved in vaping. It is this burning of tobacco that creates the thousands of toxic chemicals, carbon monoxide, and tar in cigarette smoke.
Electronic cigarettes are particularly well-suited to addressing the needs of ex-smokers. As any cigarette smoker would vouch, smoking is more than just a way to inhale nicotine. There is a whole behavioural ritual associated with the act of smoking cigarettes that is not addressed by other quit tools.
- Nicotine Delivery: Vapes deliver nicotine, the same addictive substance in tobacco, but without exposing you to the most harmful by-products of burning. This way, you can manage your cravings and withdrawal symptoms after stopping smoking.
- Hand-to-Mouth Action: You can hold a vape in your hand just like a cigarette. It mimics that hand-to-mouth feel that smokers are accustomed to. And when you take a puff, you get a throat hit quite similar to what you get from a traditional cigarette.
After you stop smoking and start vaping, you will start seeing health improvements. Since vaping does not produce any carbon monoxide, your blood oxygen level will start normalising within the first day or so. You will feel your sense of taste and smell recovering in the span of days or a few weeks. Your breathing will feel easy.
Apart from the beneficial health impacts, you will start saving money. Vaping is markedly cheaper in the long run when compared to buying cigarettes. You can realistically save thousands of pounds in a year by just swapping smoking with vaping.
How Is A Vape Kit Different From A Cigarette
The benefits of switching from cigarettes to vapes are clear to see for everyone. Once you have committed yourself to vaping as a substitute, it helps to understand the workings of your new device. While a cigarette is just tobacco wrapped in paper, a vape kit is an electronic device. It heats fluid to turn it into an aerosol that is then inhaled.
Regardless of their shapes, sizes, or brands, vapes consist of the following parts:
- Battery/Mod: This supplies power and is built-in and rechargeable in most kits.
- Atomiser/Tank/Pod: This part holds the e-liquid (limited in capacity to 2ml in the UK). You can either refill it or swap it with a new pre-filled one.
- Coil: This is the heating element inside the pod/tank. It is usually a metal wire or mesh that is surrounded by cotton that vaporizes the e-liquid.
- E-Liquid: Also known as vape juice, this fluid is heated into vapour.
Now that you understand the basics of electronic cigarettes, the next step is choosing your first vape kit. Different vapes are meant for users of different experience levels and preferences.
Prefilled Pod Kits (best for beginners):
These are the best way to ease into vaping. They are highly portable, pocket-friendly, and easy to use. You do not need to fill e-liquid or change coils with these. Just take them out of the box, do the minimal setup as indicated, and take a puff to get started.
Refillable Pod Kits:
These are a bit more advanced than the prefilled options. But they also offer Mouth-to-Lung draws and are fairly compact in size. You can fill an e-liquid of your own choice. Many come with small LED displays with battery information.
Vape Pens & "Cig-a-Likes":
Simple, pen-shaped, these devices used to be the most popular options when vaping first came on the scene. Advanced Box Mods & Tanks: Built for experienced vapers, these larger vape kits are much more powerful and have features like wattage adjustment and airflow control. There is, however, a steeper learning curve to them. They are generally not recommended for your very first device.
Disposable Vapes:
Important Note: As of 2025, it is illegal to sell or supply disposable vapes in the UK. These vape kits come pre-charged and pre-filled. You vape on them for a day or two and then throw them away and buy a new one.
If you are still unsure which type of vape kit to get, you can visit your local vape shop for hands-on testing or get in touch with a helpful vape expert at a trusted online vape store.
What is E-Liquid or Vape Juice
E-liquid or vape juice is a fluid containing Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerin (VG) in different ratios, in addition to flavourings and nicotine. While PG carries the particular flavour, it’s the VG in e-liquid that produces thick vapour. E-liquid either comes in its natural freebase form or, more popular nowadays, its nic salt variation.
When transitioning to vaping, the choice of e-liquid is crucial. You need a vape juice that is not only suitable for your particular vape kit, but also tastes good, and has just the right amount of nicotine in it to keep your cravings at bay.
If you start with too little nicotine (2mg or 6mg, for example), your cravings won’t be satiated. If there is too much, the throat hit can be particularly harsh. While there are nicotine-free e-liquids (0mg) available, the highest nicotine strength is limited to 20mg/ml under TPD regulations, covered in more detail in our UK vape regulations explained guide.
You can use your previous smoking habit as a guide when choosing nicotine strength:
- Light Smoker (under 10 cigarettes/day): use 6-10 mg/ml
- Moderate Smoker (10-20 cigarettes/day): use 10-12 mg/ml
- Heavy Smoker (20+ cigarettes/day): use 18-20 mg/ml
Other than nicotine strength, the type of e-liquid used affects your experience as well. E-liquids come in two forms: freebase nicotine and nicotine salts (nic salts).
Freebase Nicotine:
This is the traditional form. You get a sharper throat hit, which some ex-smokers prefer. But it feels particularly harsh at higher strengths.
Nicotine Salts (Nic Salts):
This is often the best choice for beginners. You can use these even at high nicotine strengths, as the hit is noticeably smooth. Moreover, they are absorbed into your bloodstream much faster.
After settling on the type and nic strength of e-liquid, you need to take care of its PG/VG ratio as well. If you are using an MTL pod kit, which is best for beginners, go for 50% PG / 50% VG e-liquids. These juices taste good and work really well with low-wattage devices. You can learn more about the formulation of e-liquids in our comprehensive e-liquid guide.
Vaping can get really boring really fast if you are using one flavour. While you are limited to the standard tobacco or mint flavour in cigarettes, e-liquids come in hundreds of classic and new flavours. You can vape on a tobacco or menthol flavour in the beginning to ease the psychological transition. Later on, feel free to try fruits, desserts, or beverages. If you manage to find a favourite, it should be a great help in keeping you off cigarettes.
How to Transition from Smoking to Vaping Successfully
Lighting up a cigarette and smoking does not take much thought or care. Vaping is a bit different. Learning about and taking care of a few things right at the start ensures that you are set up for success in your quit journey.
- Mouth-to-Lung (MTL): This is the technique for beginners. Draw vapour slowly and steadily into your mouth (as you would with a cigarette), pause for a moment, then inhale it into your lungs before exhaling.
- Priming Your Coil: Before using a new coil, it is critical to "prime" it. Priming involves putting a few drops of e-liquid directly onto the coil's wicking material, then filling the pod/tank and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes. This prevents dry or burnt hits as the cotton becomes thoroughly saturated.
You do not have to replace smoking with vaping altogether. During the initial phase, you can both smoke and vape. This dual use should be aimed at reducing cigarettes more and more.
Dealing with Common Side Effects of Vaping
- Since both PG and VG can make your mouth and throat dry, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
- Some new vapers experience coughing at the start. This is your body adjusting to vapour instead of smoke. In most cases, it passes quickly. Just make sure you are taking gentle MTl draws.
- If you feel dizzy after puffing on a vape for some time, it could be a sign that the nicotine strength is too high. Go for a low-strength e-liquid.
Managing Cravings with Vapes
You might find yourself reaching for a vape much more than you did with cigarettes. It is perfectly right. Use the vape as much as you need in the beginning to put cravings and withdrawal symptoms to rest. There is no real need to ration your vaping as of now.
Make sure you always have a charged vape device on hand. It is crucial for the times when you will want to smoke. It could be a particular trigger or a certain time and setting. Having a vape nearby ensures that you don’t end up picking up a cigarette again.
How To Take Care of Your Vape Kit
After vaping becomes a part of your routine, you would want your devices to keep working for a long time and keep overall vaping costs down. Proper vape maintenance can help you achieve that. It does not take much effort.
Replace Coils:
Coils wear out over time as e-liquid residue builds up. Most need replacing every one to three weeks. If the flavour drops off or starts tasting burnt, it is a signal for you to install a new one.
Clean Your Vape Kit:
When changing flavours or after extended use, rinse the pod or tank under warm water after removing the coil. Before reassembling, let everything dry fully to prevent old flavours from carrying over.
Take Care of the Battery:
Charge your device using the supplied or recommended charger. Never leave it plugged in overnight or charging unattended, as this can reduce battery life and create safety risks.
Get Your First Vape Starter Kit
Switching from smoking to vaping is one of the most effective health decisions a smoker can make. We hope that this vaping 101 guide has provided you with the comprehensive knowledge you will need to navigate the process with confidence.
If you are already on the lookout for a vape starter kit, you can browse through the selection of beginner-friendly vapes at our online vape store in the UK. You can buy rechargeable vapes as well as get e-liquids in your desired flavours and nicotine strengths.
