By Jemma Wolfe
Published On: 02-01-2024
New To Vaping | Ultimate Beginner’s Guide + How To Get Started
Table of Contents
- Introduction to Blog
- What is Vaping?
- Is Vaping Safe?
- Vaping Vs Smoking
- How To Vape
- What Happens When You First Start Vaping?
- Vaping Dos and Don’ts
- Is Vaping Right For You?
- New Vapers at myCigara
Here at myCigara, we’ve been on a quest to make the UK smoke-free for many years now, and over that time we’ve found ourselves posed with the same questions from new vapers; how do I start vaping? Is vaping better for me than smoking? or What vape kit should I choose?
Fear not— we have the answers. We know that making the transition from smoking to vaping is far from easy, and the world of vaping can feel pretty overwhelming when you’re just getting started. So whether you’re hoping to cut back on your cigarette use, lead a nicotine-free lifestyle or ditch the cigs for good, we have a huge range of tools, products and guides to help you achieve your goals.
Our New to Vaping guide is here to answer all of your burning questions, covering all the basics you’ll need to know before you get started. By equipping you with this essential knowledge, we hope you’ll be more confident and inspired when commencing your quit-smoking journey, armed with everything you need to lead a smoke-free lifestyle. Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
What Is Vaping?
The most simplistic definition of vaping found in the dictionary describes it as the act of inhaling vapour produced by an e-cigarette. These e-cigarette devices are powered by an internal battery and are designed to replace the use of cigarettes. But to us, vaping is so much more than that.
We see vaping as a solution. Not only could it be the key to helping you ditch the cigs for good, but it could be the answer to helping you lead a healthier and happier lifestyle. Vaping allows you to leave tobacco behind, along with its plethora of harmful chemicals, foul smell, and hefty hole in your wallet at the end of the month.
If you’ve never tried vaping before, you may associate it with large, complicated, high-tech devices and humongous vapour clouds, but this is a common misconception. Vaping comes in many different forms, with different vape kits catered to every kind of user. So even if you’ve never tried vaping before and want the most user-friendly device possible, there are plenty of great and discreet options out there suitable for beginners.
Is Vaping Safe?
This is a tricky question to answer, in part because vaping is a relatively recent innovation and hasn't been available long enough to truly know if using an e-cigarette has any long-term impacts. However, according to recent studies, it's been proven that vaping does not cause any short-term harm to the body or general health.
When discussing the safety of vaping, it’s important to take context into account. The main purpose of an e-cigarette is to provide users with a risk-free substitute to tobacco, helping to ease the transition so they can eventually quit smoking for good. So, when we take this into account, it’s safe to say that vaping is extremely safe when compared to smoking regular cigarettes. For more information on this subject, be sure to check out my blog Is Vaping Safe?
Vaping Vs Smoking
It's widely known that smoking cigarettes is really bad for your health. So, it should not be surprising to hear that vaping is significantly safer than smoking. In fact, a recent study from Public Health England found that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the key differences between vaping and smoking.
Vaping
- Tobacco-free
- No burning or combustion takes place
- Contains no tar
- Contains no carbon monoxide
- No lingering odour
- No evidence of long-term health effects found
Smoking
- Contains tobacco
- Requires burning and combustion
- Contains tar
- Contains carbon monoxide
- Foul, lingering odour
- Long-term risks of cancer and respiratory infections
How To Vape
If you’ve never tried vaping before, the thought of using one for the first time can feel pretty intimidating. You may be tempted to approach vaping the same way you smoke cigarettes, but this could easily result in a coughing fit and leave you feeling like you’re doing it wrong. But fear not, once you get the hang of it, it’s a piece of cake. Follow the steps below to learn how to properly inhale when vaping for the first time.
1. Place your lips tightly around the mouthpiece and begin to slowly draw vapour into your mouth for a few seconds.
2. Hold the vapour in your closed mouth for 2 seconds, or longer if you feel comfortable.
3. Open your mouth and slowly inhale the vapour into your lungs. Be sure not to swallow!
4. Exhale slowly once the desired amount of vapour has reached your lungs.
What Happens When You First Start Vaping?
If you’re taking up vaping for the first time, it’s important to note that it could take you a little while to adjust. While vape kits are designed to recreate the experience of smoking a real cigarette, the sensations are slightly different.
If you’ve never used a vape before, your body may need a little time to adjust, therefore it’s completely normal to experience certain side effects such as dizziness, nausea and headaches. This is because your body has become accustomed to the chemicals found in cigarettes, but these side effects will soon dissipate.
Vaping Dos And Don’ts
If you're new to vaping, it's important to understand the correct steps for enhancing your experience. The following are some basic dos and don'ts when approaching vaping for the first time:
Do's
- Start Slow - It may be tempting to jump straight in the deep end while you’re feeling motivated, but this often leads to more harm than good. Instead, start with short inhales and take a break after your first session before hitting the vape again. This will help to give you a sense of how vaping makes you feel and what to expect in future.
- Invest In Your Vaping Equipment - One of the most common mistakes beginners make is choosing the cheapest vape kit on the market, only to find that they don’t enjoy the experience and shortly turn back to cigarettes. However, if you do your research and select a high-quality vape kit from a trusted retailer with great reviews, you’re far more likely to enjoy the experience and continue on your quit smoking journey.
- Keep Your Device Clean - If you’ve invested in some high-quality vaping equipment, it’s important to look after it. Over time, e-liquid can build up in your tank and leave a sticky residue that can affect the device’s performance and taste. So, be sure to clean your vape kit regularly to help prolong its lifespan and enhance your experience.
Dont's
- Damage Your Battery - The battery is the powerhouse of your vape and therefore it needs to be properly looked after. Charging your device for long periods of time or keeping it on charge overnight can cause lasting damage to your battery and your device. Instead, take your device off charge once it’s fully charged or opt for a vape kit with fast charging capabilities.
- Vape Wherever You Like - When switching from smoking to vaping, many beginners assume that smoking rules no longer apply to them. However, this isn’t always the case. Although vaping doesn’t have the same damaging effects as smoking, it’s still prohibited in many public and indoor spaces. So, be sure to check if there are any restrictions in place before you start vaping somewhere.
- Chain Vape - If you’ve recently given up smoking, it could be tempting to chain vape. Chain vaping involves taking multiple puffs in a short space of time and can quickly burn out your coils and overheat your device, increasing the chance of dry hits. A great rule of thumb is to take it slow and leave 10-15 seconds between each drag.
Is Vaping Right For You?
To start your journey towards quitting smoking, transitioning to vaping is a great first step. Your health and your wallet will benefit from your switch to e-cigarettes, which are believed to be 95% less dangerous than traditional cigarettes and work out to be much cheaper in the long run. Although vaping has certain advantages and disadvantages, it is still seen as harm reduction, especially when smoking is the only other option.
Also, while trying to quit smoking without any help is commendable, it also makes you more likely to pick up the habit again in future. It's far easier to break a habit if you replace it with another, so in this sense, vaping offers users a lot more options than smoking when it comes to reducing, and eventually eliminating your nicotine intake.
New Vapers at myCigara
We exist to make the UK smoke-free. We believe that the best way to do that is by offering a reliable, effective alternative to smoking. In recent years, e-cigarette have been shown to be one of the most effective methods for those seeking to quit smoking for good.
If vaping sounds like it could be the next step for you, we’ve got a range of tips & guides to help get you started in the right direction. Our Basic Guide To Vaping is perfect for beginners who are keen to find out more about how to start vaping, how vaping works and the different components found in a vape kit.
If you feel like you’ve got a rough idea of what you want from your vaping experience, and want to get straight into some of our recommendations, take a look at our blog covering the Top 5 Vape Kits to Quit Smoking
If you have any questions or would like further advice, feel free to contact us, or head down to your local myCigara vape store where our friendly expert staff is on hand to help you out. .
New To Vaping
At myCigara, we exist to make the UK smoke-free. We believe that the best way to do that is by offering a reliable, effective alternative to smoking. In recent years, e-cigarette shave been shown to be one of the most effective methods for those seeking to quit smoking for good.
In fact, an independent review published by Public Health England estimates that e-cigarettes are roughly 95% less harmful than cigarettes.
By switching from smoking to vaping, you’ll be doing a favour to yourself, your wallet, and everyone around you.
Today, the vaping industry is fully regulated, and customers have a range of options available to suit any level of smoker. Whether you’re looking to cut back, cut out, or eventually go entirely nicotine-free, vaping offers forms of nicotine replacement that are both broader and more specialised than traditional cigarettes.
Although there are a variety of benefits to swapping out cigarettes for vaping, we want to make clear that vaping is a means of quitting smoking, and we do not recommend that non-smokers start vaping. With that said, if you’re ready to get started on your journey toward becoming smoke-free, we’ll cover the basics of vaping to get you started in the right direction.
What is Vaping?
At its most basic level, vaping refers to the inhaling of vapour created by an e-cigarette or other vaping device. E-cigarettes and other vapes are battery-powered devices designed solely and specifically for the purpose of vaping.
Their key, basic components are a battery, a tank, and a coil. The tank is filled with a liquid containing nicotine, flavouring and food-grade carrier oils. When the device is fired, the coil heats up, evaporating the liquid to create a vapour which is then inhaled by the user.
Is Vaping Right for You?
If you’re ready to make the journey toward being smoke-free, switching to vaping is an excellent first step. With e-cigarettes considered 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and working out at several thousand pounds cheaper annually, both your body and your wallet will thank you.
What’s more, whilst attempting to quit smoking cold turkey is certainly admirable, it also makes relapsing easier. When it comes to habits, it’s believed that switching or replacing a habit with another is much easier and more sustainable in the long run than attempting to give up a habit entirely. In practical terms, when compared to smoking, vaping gives you
many more options for cutting down on —and eventually entirely cutting out —nicotine consumption.
It’s important to note that the team at myCigara do not recommend e-cigarettes and vapes as products for non-smokers. Our mission is to make the UK smoke-free, which is why we offer a range of vaping products to help smokers quit smoking once and for all.
Vaping vs Smoking
Inhaling vapour, not smoke
When you switch from smoking to vaping, you’ll begin to experience a range of benefits. These include health benefits —most notably, improved lung functioning —financial benefits, and reducing damage done to others via second-hand smoke.
At its core, the key distinction between vaping and smoking is what you inhale. With cigarettes, tobacco is combusted, and you inhale the resulting smoke.
Commercial tobacco is chemically treated, and with every draw, smokers inhale a variety of toxic chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, butane and tar.
Less damaging to your lungs
With vaping, liquids containing nicotine are heated to produce vapour, which is then inhaled. The liquid for e-cigarettes simply contains non-toxic, food-grade oils, along with flavourings and the user’s preferred strength of nicotine (which can be none at all!).
The report from Public Health England suggests that e-cigarettes are up to 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. One of the key aspects of this is a reduction in damage to users’ lungs and respiratory systems.
The report found that asthma patients who switched from smoking to vaping experience “found significant improvements in symptoms and respiratory function” and that most of the chemicals responsible for smoking-related disease are absent in e-cigarettes.
Less damaging to others around you
Compared to second-hand smoke, exhaled vapour from a vaping device does little to no damage to others.
The report from Public Health England concluded that e-cigarettes“release negligible levels of nicotine into ambient air with no identified health risks to bystanders.”
The amount of nicotine residue left on surfaces was also deemed negligible.
Less smell / Nicer smell
As there is no combustion involved in vaping, there is no burnt, smoky smell, and although vape liquids do leave behind a smell, this is typically much milder than cigarette smoke, dissipates faster, and does not linger on surfaces to the same extent.
Since vape liquids are available in a variety of flavours, it’s always possible that your choice of e-liquid may even smell pleasant to those around you.
After all, wouldn’t you rather smell like a bakery or a fruit salad than an ashtray?
Cheaper
Aside from doing a favour to your health and your surroundings, by switching from smoking to vaping you’ll be doing wonders for your wallet.
It’s estimated that smokers who smoke an average of 20 cigarettes per day can expect to save over £3000 a year by switching to e-cigarettes!
Vaping Guides at myCigara
If vaping sounds like it could be the next step for you, we’ve got a range of tips & guides to help get you started in the right direction. Why not start by seeing our nicotine strength convertor to gauge the cigarettes to vape nicotine required for you, so you can get an understanding on what nicotine level to start your quit smoking journey with.
To help further your understanding of key aspects of vaping, check out our handy series of beginner’s guides covering such core hardware components as vape kits, tanks, vape coils, and batteries.
Many new users find themselves asking What is an E Liquid?, and in addition to our blog, we have a beginner’s guide for that, as well as a rundown of the two main styles of vaping.