A lot of vapers use nicotine in their e-liquid to help with cigarette cravings but there seems to be a lot of confusion about what the differences between Freebase Nicotine and Salt Nicotine are.....never fear, we are here to help!
Some Quick Background
Freebase nicotine is nicotine in its purest form and has been around since the 1960’s when it was originally added to marlboro cigarettes as a way to increase the strength of their cigarettes to make them stronger than their competitors.
For a long time freebase nicotine was the only available nicotine to add to vape juice but unfortunately it can be very harsh in high doses whereas salt nicotine can be much smoother allowing for a higher strength to be vaped in certain applications .
Salt Nicotine
Salt nicotine burst onto the scene and into popularity with pax labs introduction of the juul device. With salt based nicotine people were able to vape up to 50mg without discomfort...how? benzoic acid, that’s how.
Benzoic acid is a naturally occurring chemical that is found in lots of berries and ripe fruits, it also lowers the ph level of the mix bringing it closer to neutral making it smoother to inhale and actually changes the chemical structure making it absorb faster into our bodies.
So which is best?
Whether you like freebase or salt based nicotine is entirely up to personal preference. For beginners, a pod system and higher mg salt nicotine juice can seem similar to a cigarette, or people that want to avoid large clouds and bulky devices. Freebase nicotine can give you more of a throat hit that some people crave. There are pros and cons to both of these so it comes down to personal preference and making your set up work best for you.
Salts and sub ohm
We have a lot of people asking if they can use salt nicotine in a sub ohm tank or if they can use salts at a higher wattage. The reason people say not to use salt nicotine in sub ohm tanks or at a higher wattage is due to the high mg content of a lot of the premade juices. If you are vaping 3mg freebase at 50w you can vape 3mg salt base at 50w. However if you vaped 50mg salts at 50w you would most likely get nicotine poisoning and become quite sick.
The higher the wattage on your device the more vapour produced and in turn the more nicotine you inhale per drag. This is why at high nicotine mg we always recommend using a low powered mtl vape like a pod system.
Thoughts?
If you haven’t tried Nicotine salts before, and you’re finding that you need a stronger mg in your juice but can’t handle the extra throat his from freebase, then salts may be the right move for you. Just ensure that you still expertise some common sense and don’t plan to run ridiculously high mg nicotine in your sub-ohm setup.
Above all else, if you’re still unsure about which is right for you, have a chat to one of our friendly Team SVS Members today!
Emily
- Super Vape Store Charlestown