Nic Salts vs Nic Shots vs CBD Vape Oil

Many new vapers start exploring their options with one singular objective in mind. They’ve decided to quit smoking cigarettes and they want to stay quit for good. Most quitters will have tried and failed more than once already. Maybe they’ve stayed on the wagon for impressive periods of time, only to come back to smoking when they’re hit by an especially stressful life event.

Vaping can be a road to freedom. If you choose vaping, you won’t have to quit nicotine — or at least not all at once, and definitely not right away. You will, on the other hand, be doing something positive for your health and the wellbeing of the people around you — new studies are now starting to show that vaping indeed leads to “harm reduction” compared to smoking cigarettes.

Vaping isn’t anything like smoking, though. The options can easily be overwhelming, and you certainly wouldn’t be the first person to simply walk into your local vape shop, ask for some advice, and walk out with a basic vape pen and a bunch of e-liquids.

That will get you started just fine. To get the most out of your experience, though, you absolutely do need to move beyond the common e-liquids you have probably already started out with — and even if smoking cessation was your only goal at the beginning, you’ll probably discover the benefits of CBD vape oil soon enough, too, because vapes are good for a whole lot more than quitting cigarettes.

Are you ready to take your vaping experience to the next level? Here’s a deeper look at the benefits of nic salts and nic shots vs freebase nicotine e-liquids, as well as CBD vape oils.

What Are Nic Salts? What Are Their Benefits?

Most new vapers get started with “freebase nicotine” e-juices, the most common type found on the market. Freebase nicotine is, chemically-speaking, nicotine in its purest form. Freebase nicotine is produced by adding ammonia to pure nicotine to create a more bioavailable form of nicotine — or, in other words, a form of nicotine that your body can absorb more readily when coupled with traditional tobacco.

Freebase nicotine had already been popularized in cigarette form when Malboro discovered that larger quantities of nicotine could be delivered to the folks craving it way back in the 1960s, and started adding it to their products. It’s not really a surprise, then, that this trend carried over into vape juices, this time by adding freebase nicotine to the vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol that serve as the carrier oils that deliver nicotine when you vape.

Traditional e-liquids offer plenty of advantages. These common e-juices vaporize at significantly lower temperatures and offer the big vapor “cloud” some vapers appreciate, but most of all, freebase nicotine e-juices tend to give that kick in the throat that’s so satisfying to many ex-smokers.

Does freebase nicotine — or traditional vape juice — also offer the best experience, though? You won’t know until you also try nic salts.

Nicotine salt is the all-natural form of nicotine present in tobacco leaves, and nic salt offers a “return to the root” kind of experience that might remind you of smoking traditional cigarettes. Vape juices made with nic salt give the user a smoother feeling in the throat, though these vape liquids don’t yield nearly the same amount of vapor as freebase nicotine e-liquids.

Because nic salt has slightly less bioavailability on its own, manufacturers who make e-juices with nicotine salt use benzoic acid to allow the body to absorb it more effectively. In the end, that means that  nic salt vape liquids can offer a better nicotine rush with the right kind of vape. E-juice made with nicotine salt is sold in higher concentrations, too, making it perfect for folks who crave more.

The end result? Nicotine salts can give you an e-liquid that makes for a smooth and pleasant vaping experience that instantly gives users the same kind of nicotine rush they might previously have enjoyed when they smoked a good cigarette.

Although you quickly feel like you’re back in high school chemistry — way out of your depth — if you really get into vaping technicalities, the basics of nic salt are easy to grasp. Here’s a look at the reasons you might want to try vaping with nicotine salt:

• Whether you’re just trying to quit smoking, or you’ve been vaping conventional (freebase nicotine) e-juices for a while now, you might be disappointed that freebase nicotine e-liquids never seem to give you the same kind of nicotine rush. Nic salt can fix that for you by giving you that hit.
• If you don’t like that harsh feeling in your throat and prefer a smoother vaping experience, nicotine salt can offer you the experience you’re after.
• Nic salt is great for folks who are only planning on vaping short-term as they quit cigarettes, too. Vaping with nic salts mimics the experience of smoking more closely, and you’ll be able to wean yourself off nicotine gradually.
• Nic salt is a great option for people who are using low-wattage vaping devices or refillable pod vaping devices. This ultimately means that vaping with nicotine salts is a solid choice for budget vapers who aren’t intending to build their own custom devices, too.

Nic salts are also, on the other hand, thicker. This means that vapers will burn through their coils more quickly, especially if they’re new to the experience.

What Are Nic Shots?

Nic shots — short, of course, for “nicotine shots” — are a relatively new kid on the vaping block. These 10 milliliter bottles of nicotine were born of bureaucratic necessity, and more specifically resulted from the 2016 Tobacco Products Directive that affects people who live in European Union member states.

As a direct result of the Tobacco Products Directive, those 10 ml bottles became the upper limit for e-liquids containing (any form of) nicotine. Each of these products needs to be tested thoroughly before it can be sold, and testing each flavor separately would be quite the hassle for manufacturers.

The introduction of these new regulations really got in the way of the countless innovative vaping flavors that had hit the market before they invaded vapers’ way of life. Nic shots emerged as the solution — or, if you prefer to be blunt, a loophole in the regulations. Thanks to nic shots, vapers can continue to enjoy the countless flavors they’d already grown accustomed to before the TPD went into effect freely to this day.

Here’s how. Available in a variety of strengths, nicotine shots only contain nicotine and carriers like vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol. Nicotine shots act as the active ingredient in your vaping liquids, in other words — they’re the real reason you’re vaping, if it’s nicotine you’re after, but they can’t be used on their own. Once you’ve got your hands on a 10 ml nic shot bottle, you can then simply add that nic shot to your favorite vape juice and get started.

Thanks to nic shots, if you live in a country that’s subject to the 2016 Tobacco Products Directive and you hate the thought of only being able to buy teeny-tiny bottles of your favorite vape juice, you don’t have to. You will, on the other hand, have to accept that your e-liquid is now a two-component affair.

You get all the nicotine from your nic shots, while the flavor (including sweeteners) that’s also an integral part of the vaping experience is delivered through larger bottles of nicotine-free e-juice. Mix a 60 ml “shortfill” bottle of nicotine-free vape juice with the nic shot of your choice, and you can continue to enjoy vaping as much as you did before the Tobacco Products Directive came into effect.

More advanced users can also take advantage of the fact that they can customize their vaping experience with the help of nic shots.

Any ready-made e-liquid pretty much comes the way it is, after all. Sure, you can mix one vape juice with another to create a custom flavor or to alter the strength of the nicotine, but that’s pretty much it. Thanks to the emergence of nicotine shots, that’s changed slightly. While most nic shots are of the freebase nicotine variety, you see, nicotine shots that rely on nic salts are also entering the market.

That’s good news for vapers who have found flavors they really enjoy but who want to experiment a little. By buying nicotine shots to add to your shortfill bottles (which are usually 60 ml), you will be able to use nicotine salts or freebase nicotine, depending on the experience you are after.

Nic shots aren’t just available to people living in European Union member states who essentially have no choice but to use nicotine shots unless they want to carry a bunch of really tiny bottles around with them everywhere they go, either. Because nic shots are on the market now, they’re there for everyone who wants a personalized vaping experience. Why not make use of them?

The main advantages of nicotine shots are that:

• Vapers can easily play around with a variety of different flavors until they find new ones they like, without risking wasting precious nicotine. Once they find an e-juice they like, they can add exactly the amount of nicotine they want.
• You can choose between nic salts and freebase nicotine while sticking with the nicotine-free vape juice of your choice. If you prefer a more immediate effect and a smoother experience, you might choose nic salts, for instance, while vapers who have grown used to freebase nicotine and enjoy more vapor might prefer freebase nicotine.
• If you like to vary your nicotine content, you can do that with nic shots. You might want to do this because you’re an ex-smoker and you are looking to work your way down to no nicotine at all while still enjoying the visceral experience of vaping, or because you simply don’t always want the same strength.

In short, nic shots can offer the perfect vaping experience no matter who you are. Whether you prefer an innovative and trendy fruit punch or menthol or you’re trying to mimic the experience of smoking cigarettes, the perfect nicotine-free vape juice for you is already out there. You just have to find it. Once you do, the sky is the limit. You can add as much or as little nicotine as you need or want, and when you do, you can choose whether you would like a conventional freebase nicotine nic shot, or you would enjoy a nic shot based on nicotine salts more. Nic shots put all the power in your hands.

What Do You Need to Know to Get Started with CBD Vape Oil?

Not every vaper used to be a cigarette smoker, but those who are definitely got into vaping for the nicotine. CBD, short for cannabidiol, offers entirely different benefits. CBD is the second most common active ingredient in cannabis, after THC. Vaping CDB won’t get you high — that’s what the THC is for — but it does offer plenty of other health benefits that almost everyone would welcome into their life.

The scientific community is still discovering new benefits all the time, as CDB (and medical cannabis in general) are becoming legalized in more and more jurisdictions. For now, though, we know that CBD can help you with:

• Relieving chronic pain caused by many different medical conditions, ranging from Multiple Sclerosis and cancer to chronic back pain, pain related to arthritis and fibromyalgia, and nerve pain.
• Improving the symptoms of a great variety of mental health problems, including (but definitely not limited to) Major Depressive Disorder, various anxiety disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and insomnia (which can have physical and mental causes).
• Reducing inflammation in the body.
• Reducing the severity and number of epileptic seizures.
• Fighting nausea, whether related to cancer treatment or for any other reason.
• Increasing appetite, such as in people who suffer from cancer, eating disorders, or HIV.
• If you’ve been using nicotine for a really long time and would prefer to stop, CDB can help you with that, too, as CBD has been found to reduce nicotine cravings. For some people, vaping CBD oil can offer a similar visceral experience as vaping nicotine-based vape juices, but without the nicotine.

Vaping definitely isn’t the only way to reap the benefits of CBD, but it’s one of the easiest. Using CBD vape oil in your vaping device is a discrete and enjoyable way to consume this medicinal compound. Vaping CBD oil isn’t as simple as using nic salts or nic shots mixed with nicotine-free vape juice, though. There’s a learning curve. What do you need to know if you’re interested in vaping CBD oil?

“Regular” CBD oil — of the kind you can legally purchase in more and more places — is extracted from low-THC cannabis strains in a variety of ways. This kind of CBD oil is designed to be swallowed neat, incorporated into edibles, or to be used sublingually, by placing it under the tongue and waiting for the medicinal benefits of the CBD oil to kick in. It’s not meant to be inhaled.

CDB vape oil is a bit of a misnomer, as it’s not actually an oil. Like the more traditional nicotine vape juices, CBD vape oils contain vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol, which serve as the carriers. While your regular old vape juice would be infused with nicotine, CBD vape oils instead have CDB, as well as other helpful ingredients like terpenes and cannabinoids.

Folks who are interested in vaping CBD-infused e-liquids need to shop around for specialized products with high quality standards. They also need to keep a few other things in mind before they start vaping CBD vape liquids:

• To get the CBD dosage right, you are always advised to start slow. If you have never vaped CBD oil e-liquids before, you won’t know how your body is going to react to them. Most manufacturers advise novice CBD vapers like yourself to begin with 5 mg of CBD vape oil for every kilogram of body weight twice a day, at 2.5 mg. Move up from there, but slowly. Most regular CBD users choose doses of 10 to 30 mg per day. Those who have severe symptoms may take as much as 1,000 mg of CBD per day.
• Have you never vaped before? No problem! CBD vape oils that are compatible with easy and popular vaping solutions like the JUUL are on the market, and if you’re not sure what you’re doing yet or want something super user-friendly, you can even opt for disposable CDB vape pens.
• Not all CBD vape oils were created equally. Do your research before you buy. CBD oil is legal almost everywhere these days, but you do want your CBD e-liquid to be quality-tested properly. If you’re not interested in getting high, you’ll want to ensure that your CBD vape oil does not contain any THC before you put that vape juice into your cart.
• CBD vape juice is available in a variety of flavors. Consider what you might like, and what you definitely won’t, before you buy. Experiment with smaller bottles to avoid wasting money, because you’ll inevitably find some CBD vape juices so unpleasant that they’re practically unvapeable.

Although it’s always important to take safety seriously — and that begins by choosing a high-quality CBD vape juice — you definitely don’t need to be intimidated by these caveats. Vaping CBD e-liquids offers plenty of advantages over other ways of consuming CBD.

Vaping CBD e-liquids is one of the most bioavailable ways to get CBD into your system. That ultimately means that you will find relief from your medical problems quickly, soon after you start vaping. It also means you that vaping CBD vape juice allows your body to absorb more CBD than you would get by swallowing it.

Nic Salt vs Nic Shot vs CBD Vape Oil: What Should You Know Before You Get Started?

First, ask yourself why you’re vaping.

Are vaping because you’re after nicotine, likely because you’ve quit smoking — either recently on quite a while ago? Whether you go online or head into your local vape store, you’re most likely to wind up with freebase nicotine vape liquids, unless you do your research.

Vapers who crave a stronger nicotine rush that’s more like smoking cigarettes might not ever quite be satisfied with freebase nicotine vape juices. By experimenting with nic salts instead, they could level up their experience and enjoy a smoother, stronger, vaping routine. Using nic salts might cause you to burn through your coils more quickly, but you can still easily use low-wattage, inexpensive, vaping devices.

Nicotine shots were primarily created to circumvent the EU Tobacco Products Directive that forced manufacturers to sell nicotine-based vape liquids in bottles of no more than 10 ml. Although they were mostly a bureaucratic invention, nic shots also allow vapers to add their own nicotine to vape juice flavors without nicotine, commonly called shortfills.

That means that you can have as much or as little nicotine as you want, suspended in the flavor of your choice. What’s more, although nicotine shots are often of the freebase nicotine variety, they can also be found in the form of nic salts. Nicotine shots offer vapers everywhere the exact experience they want, then.

As vaping has risen in popularity, it’s no longer all about the nicotine. Vaping cannabis has become very common, and vapers who are only after the medicinal benefits that the hemp plant has to offer can choose to use CBD vape oils.

These unique vape liquids, which are now available in a spectrum of familiar and fresh flavors as well as strengths, can deliver CBD to your lungs — and therewith your entire body — in almost no time. Vaping CBD juice is very different to vaping nic salts or nic shots and shortfills, and offers a range unique health benefits that can help with chronic physical and mental disorders.

The one common thread is that all users will want to make sure that they are purchasing high-quality vaping products from reputable manufacturers to make sure that their vaping experience is as smooth and safe as it can be.