Making the Switch: Understanding Nicotine Levels in Vapes and E-Liquids

Nicotine Content and How Our True Nicotine Formula Worked

“How much nicotine is in my vape juice? and how much nicotine is too much?” These are some of the most common questions people ask when switching from cigarettes to vaping. Tracking your nicotine intake is especially important if you’re making the move to quit smoking. To simplify this transition, ePuffer originally developed a True Nicotine Formula, based on a per unit calculation (with one unit equal to one cigarette).

Understanding the True Nicotine Formula

Long-time smokers may remember when cigarette companies printed tar and nicotine levels on every pack. For example, a pack might list 1.0mg nicotine per cigarette (per unit), meaning that smoking a 20-pack equaled about 20mg of nicotine consumed.

To help replicate this clarity for vapers, we introduced per-unit labelling:

• 1.2mg – Regular

• 0.6mg – Mild

• 0.3mg – Light

• 0mg – Zero

This system made it simple for smokers transitioning to vaping to find a nicotine strength that matched their needs.

What is a Unit?

Through research with over 500 smokers worldwide, we determined the average number of puffs per cigarette. While results varied, the data allowed us to define 1 cigarette (1 unit) = 15 puffs.

Data sample:

• 30 smokers: 9 puffs

• 50 smokers: 10 puffs

• 90 smokers: 12 puffs

• 120 smokers: 14 puffs

• 170 smokers: 15 puffs

• 70 smokers: 16 puffs

When designing our SNAPS e-cigarette cartomizer, we set each cartridge capacity at 1ml for easier calculations. One cartomizer delivers about 300 puffs, which equals:

• 300 puffs ÷ 15 puffs per unit = 20 units

• 1 cartomizer ≈ 1 pack of 20 cigarettes
   

Updated Formula Using 20mg/ml (2.0%)

With today’s standards, let’s calculate nicotine intake using a 20mg/ml e-liquid (2.0%).

• Each ml = 20mg nicotine

• 1 cartomizer = 1ml = 300 puffs

• 20mg ÷ 300 puffs = 0.067mg per puff (approx.)

So for 1 unit (15 puffs):

• 0.067mg × 15 = 1.0mg nicotine per cigarette unit
   

Nicotine Intake per Puff Count

Using the updated formula:

• 9 puffs ≈ 0.60mg

• 10 puffs ≈ 0.67mg

• 11 puffs ≈ 0.73mg

• 12 puffs ≈ 0.80mg

• 13 puffs ≈ 0.87mg

• 14 puffs ≈ 0.93mg

• 15 puffs ≈ 1.00mg

• 16 puffs ≈ 1.07mg
   

Why We Switched to Percentage-Based Labelling

While the True Nicotine Formula worked well and was widely used at ePuffer, as of October 1, 2018, we transitioned to percentage-based nicotine labelling instead of per-unit.

Why? The vaping industry has matured. Most vapers now understand mg/ml and % labelling, and this format also ensures compliance with FDA and EU TPD regulations.

How Nicotine Content is Measured

Nicotine in e-liquids is measured in mg/ml, which can also be expressed as a percentage by volume.

For example:

• 1.2% e-liquid = 12mg/ml nicotine

• 2.0% e-liquid = 20mg/ml nicotine

The higher the percentage, the stronger the nicotine content.

This updated approach keeps things transparent and simple whether you’re a new vaper looking to quit smoking or an experienced one fine-tuning your nicotine intake.