Understanding The Difference Between Nicotine Salts And Freebase Nicotine
In case you aren’t familiar with nicotine salts, it is a type of nicotine that is absorbed by the body more readily and allows you to use a vape juice with a higher concentration of nicotine without the rough throat hit you might expect. Usually, the higher the nicotine level, the harsher the throat hit. This problem ends up turning away a lot of potential vapers, who have trouble achieving the amount of nicotine that they need because of the discomfort. If you want a higher amount of nicotine – but don’t want to vape constantly (or deal with excess harshness) – then nicotine salts are a great solution.
Nicotine salts are a great choice for vapers who:
- Want to quit smoking cigarettes
- Want to try vaping but don’t know where to start
- Are looking for more nicotine and a throat hit similar to smoking
- Have tried vaping unsuccessfully in the past
- Let’s take a closer look at the differences between nicotine salts and freebase nicotine.
What Is Freebase Nicotine?
In order to understand nicotine salts, you must first understand freebase nicotine. Freebase nicotine is nicotine in its purest form. Nicotine in tobacco leaves is not the most effective way to deliver it to your body, which is where freebasing comes in. Simply put, freebasing nicotine, or converting it from its natural salt state into a base, makes it more bioavailable and ensures that it is absorbed into your lungs and brain much faster. So, if freebase nicotine is more potent, then why are so many vapers switching to nicotine salts?
What Are Nicotine Salts?
Nicotine salt is simply the natural state of the nicotine found in tobacco leaves. It is more stable and not as volatile as freebase nicotine. Nic salts can also handle higher temperatures, and the ions don’t travel as easily to your body’s nicotine receptors. If it’s not as effective as freebase nicotine, then why the craze?
Basically, when it comes to vape juice, nicotine salts can make higher nicotine levels more palatable and make the experience more like smoking traditional cigarettes. The secret ingredient that makes this work is benzoic acid. This particular acid accomplishes two important things: first, it allows nicotine salts to vaporise at a lower temperature and it lowers the pH levels for a smoother throat hit; second, it renders the nicotine more bioavailable, meaning is becomes as easily absorbed as freebase nicotine.
Which Is Right For You?
From a vaping perspective, the difference between nicotine salts and freebase nicotine is a matter of the effect it has on your vaping experience. There are a few noticeable differences in using an e-juice with freebase nicotine vs nicotine salts. Nicotine salts generally provide a smoother throat hit thanks to their lower alkalinity. Also, because of how they are manipulated, nicotine salts are even more bioavailable (read: effective) than freebase nicotine. Another major advantage of nicotine salts over freebase nicotine is that the devices that use nicotine salts tend to be much easier to use, especially for new vapers. If you’re looking to try nicotine salts or experience the world of vaping for the first time, the ePuffer XPOD is a fantastic choice.
