For the uninitiated who do not know what it is that are we talking about here, some explanatory notes will follow:-
- Vaping – this is the colloquial way of describing what people do when they use electronic cigarettes (e-cigs).
- Electronic cigarettes are devices that simulate the act of smoking tobacco without burning anything. There are several different types of device that can do this but, one way or another, they all utilize an electric charge to vaporize a liquid so that it can be sucked into one’s mouth and then inhaled and blown out – just like tobacco smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe. The important difference being that there is no smoke – only vapor. More often than not, nicotine will be present in the liquid being vaporized.
- E-Juice, or E-liquid –often simply called juice or joose – this is the liquid that is placed inside the e-cig to be vaporized and then vaped.
How’s It Work
When e-liquid is placed within a chamber in the e-cig and raised to a temperature of approximately 100-250 °C it becomes an aerosol which is a suspension of microscopic liquid particles of condensed vapor within a gas. Note –in physics, a vapor is something that is in its gas phase (as against solid or liquid). The energy source for the heating is usually a battery built into the device and piezoelectric elements may also be used.
Composition Of The E-Liquid
For the vaper’s pleasure, the juice is always flavored (both for taste and aroma) and liquid nicotine is normally present although it can be left out. This combination makes up about 5% of the juice. The remaining 95% will be propylene glycol (possibly mixed with glycerin) and water acting as a carrier fluid. There are many commercial brands of e-liquid on the market and their formulae vary extensively. In some, the glycerin totally replaces the propylene glycol.
Some vapers prefer to buy the carrier fluid separately and then mix in their own choices of flavorings and additives but, by and large, most of the liquid vaped is purchased ready mixed from online stores. However, a recent trend has seen the opening of vaping lounges and physical juice supply shops.
In 2014, it was estimated that something like 8,000 different flavors of e-juice were available on the market. Amongst these is the Natur E-Juice range from the online store of VAPORVAPER aka Ejuicevapery. This range only uses pure, natural glycerin as the carrier. Some six different flavors are available each with a selection of nicotine content from zero up to 18mg.
