What is The Difference Between Nic Salts and Freebase e-Liquid?

What is The Difference Between Nic Salts and Freebase e-Liquid?

Nicotine salts first hit the market in 2015 but have gained immense popularity within the vaping community over the past few years. What is the difference between nic-salts and traditional e-liquid? In this article we will discuss the main differences between these two vaping options and some of the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Nicotine, which comes from tobacco leaves, is not absorbed well by the body when in its purest form. However, in the early 1960’s, Phillip Morris International, Marlboro’s parent company, began adding ammonia to nicotine, which effectively removed the positive charge from the nicotine ions. Removing the positive charge allowed the nicotine to move more freely across the body’s membranes, hence the name “freebase nicotine”. In its freebase form, nicotine is more potent and is more efficiently absorbed by the body. 

Freebase Nicotine

Today, freebase nicotine is the most common source of nicotine, and it is what is found in traditional cigarettes and regular e-liquid. Many vapers enjoy freebase nicotine due to its smooth throat hit, good vapour product, flavour, and potency. 

With all these advantages, why has nicotine salt gained so much popularity?

Nicotine Salt 

A major disadvantage of freebase nicotine for many vapers is, as you increase nicotine strength, the throat hit becomes extremely harsh. Consequently, a search for a way to increase nicotine content without compromising the vaping experience led to the invention of nic-salts. 

Nic-salt consists of the natural nicotine extract from tobacco leaves before it undergoes the freebasing process and benzoic acid. The benzoic acid lowers the pH levels in salt nicotine to allow for higher nicotine levels without compromising the flavour and smoothness. Consequently, nic-salts have become increasingly popular among vapers looking for a stronger nicotine hit. Vapers quitting traditional cigarettes often find nic-salts particularly beneficial because it enables them to absorb more nicotine faster and provides a smoother throat hit. 

At Wicks and Wires our selection of nic-salt liquids come flavoured or unflavoured and are available in nicotine strengths of 10mg or 20mg. An important factor to keep in mind is that nic-salts are designed to be used in lower wattage devices. Vaping nicotine in high-powered devices will give you an excessive amount of nicotine and an unpleasant vaping experience. 

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