Whether you’ve made the switch to vaping already, or are considering doing so, there are some awesome benefits to getting off of the combustible coffin nails we all know and hate. From the terrible smell to the milky resin that builds up in your mouth when you hack a dart down the pipes, it’s easy to look back—or in some cases, look at yourself now—and be greatly displeased with where it got you. With vaping, however, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’ve got the following five things going for you.
1. You won’t smell like a dive bar
That’s right! If you’re not a vaper, then it might not be known to you. But once you make the switch to e-cigarettes, you’ll experience a permanent decrease in smelling like your uncle on Christmas Eve a few years ago. This may sound pretty straightforward but I’m sure, reformed or current smoker, you know the struggle. You go to work, suck back a quick ciggy before heading inside, and the secretary looks at you like you’re putting her into anaphylactic shock. Your boss is confident in your abilities, but isn’t fond of the fact that you smell like bogeys.
After the switch, you’ll find that you don’t smell like you’ve just used an ashtray as a face mask before kissing your partner goodnight after a hot date. In fact, the only way the smell might stick to you is if you happen to spill a little bit of vape juice on yourself; and in that case, you’d smell like strawberries (or another mouth-watering flavour)! Now you can pop outside, take a couple of puffs, and read your kids a bedtime story without them wondering why you always smell so disgusting. One of my favourite testimonies was from a middle-aged gentleman whose daughter actually told her teacher at school that she was “proud that Daddy doesn’t smell anymore”.
2. You’re in control your nicotine intake
Now, I mean this in a couple of ways. First, you can take advantage of the fact that vape juice, e-juice, e-cig oil, whatever you wanna call it, is actually measured in levels of nicotine strength. You can choose between a nicotine concentration of 18mg all the way down to a 1.5mg (or 0mg if you don’t want any at all). Personally, I dilute 1.5 in half and use that. This might seem a bit pretentious, but it is indeed necessary in my goal of completely quitting nicotine. No matter how heavy of a smoker you are, you have the option to purchase a lower level, or dilute your nicotine at any time. Smoking has the classic cut down or kill the cigarette prematurely options. Not so versatile.
The second way is stopping whenever you like. For example, when you’re out drinking with your buddies, or attending your favourite opera (*ahem* Rigoletto at the C.O.C.), you have the option of turning off your vape at any time. This may seem trivial to non-smokers and non-vapers. However, having to ditch a cigarette out of a pack that cost me twelve bucks every two days was something I was never fond of. Now there’s the choice of how much, when, and where I can vape. Further on the subject of vaping control is temperature control and variable wattage. Beginner vapers don’t necessarily have to worry themselves with the former. The latter is a simplistic and beneficial convenience for you to consider in exploring to see which setting suits you.
3. You can become a vape flavour connoisseur
Whether it’s basic tobaccos, crazy custards, or the most exotic fruits you could imagine, the vape industry does not joke around about flavours. I mean that figuratively (there are a lot of jokes out there in regard to flavour names). Either way, the world of vaping has a lot to offer you beyond regular, blue, menthol, and some weird unspecified Chinese cigarette you bummed off a guy at a bar. Not only that, but you can even mix your own flavours. From spicing up a dessert with a light touch of cinnamon to adding some mint to a fruit cocktail, you have some amazing opportunity for discovering new flavours. What evidence do I have, you ask? Well have you ever heard of star fruit? Me either. But I’ve vaped it!
4. You can learn some vape tricks
Although the world of competitive vaping seems ominous, if not excessive, to beginners (and especially non-vapers), you can still learn neat tricks to perform in front of your friends. From vape O’s to ghosting, there is a myriad of different tricks, techniques, and methods to vaping that can produce amazing results. With enough practice, you can start to blow your first vape O’s, and then take more challenging maneuvers, like tornados or jellyfish. A more simplistic trick is just the act of cloud chasing, attempting to create the largest plume of vapour out of all of your friends. Assuming you have the right equipment, you can easily find yourself pushing enough wattage to theoretically fill up an entire room in a few drags. There are tons of things you can do with trick vaping, and it’s something I think every vaper should dabble in, even if only for a brief amount of time. Because… Well, you can! And it’s fun!
5. You can customize your device
If you thought trick vaping was extreme, you should look into the insane amount of aesthetic modifications available for the majority of vape devices. Unfortunately for quite a few beginner mods, customization just isn’t a feasible option, save for stickers. But as long as you have a tank and a mod, you have room for customization. This could be anything from a simplistic vape band to represent your local store, all the way to upgrading the firmware on your device to display a spooky skeleton. Personally, I find myself constantly looking at all the different kinds of mods available these days (photo above is one of the coolest mods I’ve ever seen!) It should absolutely be noted that there are some things you should avoid doing with your devices. Unless you have knowledge of the inner workings of vapes, you should never find yourself painting, polishing, or engraving your device. This is not only due to the possibility of getting residue in your air path and/or battery compartment, but also the risk of blocking off battery venting, which is extremely dangerous in high-power vapes. Always do copious amounts of research to avoid putting your device (and possibly yourself) in danger. Other than that, feel free to enjoy getting crazy with the way your mod looks!
