Starting to vape - nicotine strength?

[Rosie70]

My DH smokes around 10 a day, prob more when he goes out. I worry all the time about him getting cancer. He has agreed to try vaping so I'm on the case! Thanks to the really helpful and informative threads on here, I'm going to get him 2 x Express kit from ParadiseVapeUk and some starter flavours from Lickwid. But what nicotine strength should I get - 6, 12, 18 or 24mg? Can't find info re strength in the online shops. Any other tips would also be gratefully received. Thanks!

Morning Rosie. The recommendation is 18mg for a 20 a day smoker, so I reckon 12mg should be about right for your DH - better a slightly stronger option than it not "doing it" for him, and nicotine in itself isn't harmful to health (unless you drink loads!).

It's quite important for both him & you to understand that vaping works a bit differently from smoking; the nicotine is absorbed differently and slower so rather than 1 cigarette smoked completely every hour or so, vaping tends to be little & often e.g. 3-4 drags every 10-15 minutes or so. Many new vapers think they are using much more nicotine than before - they aren't really, it just feels like that because of the absorption differences. Another thing for him to bear in mind is that he is very unlikely to get that "aah" moment a smoker gets when they first light up due to this.

He may be surprised at which types of flavours he likes, so get a variety of the samples (expect him to get through around 10-20ml a week roughly in total); I'm not a fruit person in general, but currently vaping grape, apple & pineapple flavours.

Many thanks Allergic, that's so helpful. There's a bit of an issue re taking drags every 10-15 mins - our 3 DCs don't know he smokes - he smokes all day at work but just in evenings at the weekend - or he might 'pop to the shops' a couple of times during the day at weekends. Is that going to be a barrier to vaping successfully?

No, because he can pop into a room for a second or two. No one will be none the wiser.
Don't go for the crazy flavours, most heavy smokers I know hated it. If you must get a flavour I recommend coffee.
I started with 18mg/ml and it was more than enough for me, few months down the line I bought a 1% one by mistake but I have been absolutely fine, I thought it was a bit meh but put it down to having enough of vaping too.
Buy spare batteries and chargers (one for home, one for work/car).

Also agree with starting with 18, I was a 20 a day smoker & that is what I started with & now smoke 12 9nearly two years on).

Also, don't be surprised if he still has the odd cigarette for a week or so. Most of us who have successfully quit the fags 'dual fuelled' for a week or two whilst getting used to vaping.

Good luck to him & if he has any questions or problems pop back & ask. NO question is too stupid - it's a relatively new thing & can be a bit muddling to start with.

As KiaOra says, absolutely no-one will notice if he vapes out of their sight. There is NO smoke type smell, maybe a faint whiff of some flavours e.g. the stronger fruit ones. My sister is very anti smoking & absolutely detests the smell, yet she is happy for me to vape in her house because of the lack of smell & smoke.

The kit you are buying is pretty small & discrete so can very easily be slipped into a pocket or the hand & no-one will notice (though being that small, will need charging more often).

Oh forgot to say in my earlier post - many people cough pretty badly the first few times they try vaping, this is because they draw on the e-cig like they did on a cigarette. It needs to be a MUCH gentler draw, not much more than breathing in.

In the beginning it just dried my throat, I had the cough for a bit...it soon passes.
The constipation on the other hand... Hehe, that's another story....tell him to up the fluids!

Thanks everyone - great advice, fingers crossed he will soon be an ex smoker!

If in doubt, go for the higher strength. Do come back with any questions, even better, get your DH to post if he has questions. Good luck

Kia - I was quite worried about the constipation, but have found a cup of coffee & a vape have just the same effect as a fag & coffee! (Sorry if that's TMI).

But I do find I am drinking more water, which is no bad thing.