Nic Salt Strength Guide: Should You Vape 5mg, 10mg or 20mg?

Nic Salt Strength Guide: Should You Vape 5mg, 10mg or 20mg?

Picking a nicotine strength is the single decision that makes or breaks a switch to refillable vaping. Go too low and you will vape constantly without ever feeling satisfied. Go too high and the first few puffs will make you feel light-headed and put you off entirely.

Here is how to get it right first time, and how to tell when you have got it wrong.

What nic salt actually is

Nicotine comes in two forms in e-liquid. Freebase is the traditional type, and it gets harsh in the throat as the strength climbs. Above roughly 12mg most people find it uncomfortable in a small device.

Salt nicotine has an acid added to it, which lowers the pH and takes the edge off. The result is that 20mg salt nicotine is comfortable to inhale where 20mg freebase would make you cough. It also absorbs into the bloodstream faster, so cravings settle sooner.

That is why nic salts are the standard choice for small refillable pod kits, and why they are sold at strengths that would be unusable in freebase form.

The three UK strengths at a glance

20mg per ml is the legal maximum for nicotine-containing e-liquid in the UK, and 10ml is the maximum bottle size. Anything sold above either limit is not legal here, wherever it was made.

Not sure which strength is right for you? Browse our nic salts in 5mg, 10mg and 20mg.

Match the strength to what you smoked

The most reliable starting point is your old cigarette habit, not guesswork:

• Under 10 a day, or only socially - start at 5mg
• Around 10 to 15 a day - start at 10mg
• 20 a day or more - start at 20mg
• Already vaping and unsatisfied - move up one step, not two

If you fall between two of these, take the lower one. Moving up is easy. Coming down after a bad first experience is harder, because by then you have decided vaping is not for you.

Signs you picked too high

• Light-headedness or a headache after a few minutes of vaping
• A dry, scratchy throat that does not settle
• Slight nausea, particularly on an empty stomach
• Putting the device down because it feels like too much

Signs you picked too low

• Vaping almost continuously without feeling any different
• Still wanting a cigarette an hour after vaping
• Getting through a bottle far faster than expected
• Reaching for the device out of frustration rather than habit

Chain-vaping is the clearest signal of all. If you cannot put it down, the strength is doing too little, not too much.

Your device matters as much as the number

The same 20mg bottle behaves completely differently in two devices. A mouth-to-lung pod kit with a coil around 0.8 ohm or above delivers a small, cigarette-like draw, which is what nic salts are designed for.

Put that same liquid in a sub-ohm tank built for big direct-lung clouds and you will inhale several times the nicotine per puff. That is genuinely unpleasant and worth avoiding. Nic salts belong in pod kits and vape pens, not sub-ohm hardware.

This is also why 50/50 VG/PG is the standard blend for salts. It is thin enough to wick properly through the small coils those devices use.

Stepping down over time

Plenty of people start at 20mg and stay there, and that is a perfectly reasonable outcome if the alternative is smoking. But if reducing your nicotine intake is the goal, do it slowly:

• Stay at your starting strength until vaping feels completely routine, usually a month or more
• Drop one step, from 20mg to 10mg, and give it two full weeks before judging
• If you find yourself vaping twice as much, go back up and try again later
• Alternate between two strengths for a while rather than switching in one go

Rushing this is the most common reason people go back to smoking. There is no prize for getting to 5mg quickly.

Common questions

Can I mix two strengths in one pod?
Yes. Filling half with 10mg and half with 20mg gives you roughly 15mg, which is a useful way to step down gradually without buying a strength you will only use once.

Does a higher strength last longer?
Usually, yes. Satisfaction arrives sooner, so you vape less. People who drop to a lower strength are often surprised at how much faster they empty a bottle.

Is 20mg dangerous?
20mg per ml is the UK legal maximum and is designed for exactly this use. It is not intended for sub-ohm devices, and it should never be swallowed or handled carelessly. Keep it away from children and pets.

Why does the same strength feel stronger in a new device?
Airflow and coil resistance change how much vapour you take per puff. A tighter draw or a lower-resistance coil will both make an identical liquid feel stronger.

Where to start

Still unsure? Start with 10mg.

 It suits the majority of people, it is forgiving in almost any mouth-to-lung pod kit, and it leaves you room to move in either direction once you know how it feels.

Our full nic salt range is available in 5mg, 10mg and 20mg across every flavour, so you can try a strength without committing to a whole new flavour at the same time.

Contains nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance. Not for sale to anyone under 18. This article is general information, not medical advice.