Beginner's Guide to Vaping: What to Know Before You Start

Most people who contact us have the same story. They've tried patches, gum, maybe Champix. Nothing stuck. Now they're looking at vaping but the amount of information out there is paralysing.

This guide covers the basics and nothing more. We've got separate guides for the detailed stuff - coils, priming, e-liquid science, wattage settings - and we'll link to them as we go. What you'll get here is enough to walk into a shop or order online without feeling lost.

How Vaping Works - the 30-Second Version

Cigarettes burn tobacco at over 800 degrees. That burning is what creates the tar, the carbon monoxide, the formaldehyde - basically all the stuff that kills you. Nicotine on its own isn't great, but it's not what gives you lung cancer.

Vaping skips the burning entirely. Your kit warms liquid to about 200 degrees, which is enough to turn it into vapour but nowhere close to combustion. We explain this to customers on live chat probably ten times a day. It's the bit that clicks for most people - once you take fire out of the equation, you take out most of the harm.

The NHS puts vaping at around 95% less harmful than smoking. That number gets quoted a lot and occasionally argued about, but the basic logic is sound. No fire, no smoke, no tar.

Inside the vape you've got a battery, a coil, and a pod or tank that holds the liquid. Battery powers the coil, coil heats the liquid, you inhale the vapour. Some kits have a button, some just activate when you draw on them.

Choosing a Kit When You Don't Know What You Want

Since the disposable ban in June 2025, the market's actually easier to navigate. You've got two main options as a beginner.

Prefilled pod kits are the closest thing to a disposable. Rechargeable battery, prefilled pods you swap when empty. No filling, no coil changes, no fuss. Brands like Elf Bar, Lost Mary, and IVG all make them. Good for people who want simplicity and don't care about having thousands of flavour options. Browse our prefilled pod kits to see what's available.

Refillable pod kits are where most people end up. You fill the pod yourself from a bottle of e-liquid, which opens up thousands of flavours and saves a lot of money long-term. The OXVA Xlim, Uwell Caliburn, and Vaporesso XROS ranges are the ones we sell the most of. They're straightforward to use, hold up well, and cheap to run. Our pod kits collection has the full range, and there's a more detailed breakdown in our guide to choosing a pod vape kit.

If you're coming from disposables specifically, we wrote a separate guide to switching from disposables to pod kits that covers the transition step by step.

The Vaping Style That Matters - MTL vs DTL

There are different ways to inhale vapour. Picking the wrong one is probably the fastest way to hate vaping before you've given it a fair go.

MTL (mouth-to-lung) mimics how you smoke a cigarette. Draw into your mouth, pause, breathe into your lungs. Tighter airflow, less vapour, works with higher nicotine. This is what most smokers should start with.

DTL (direct-to-lung) is breathing vapour straight into your lungs like you're inhaling through a wide straw. Big clouds, lower nicotine, more power. It's a hobby for experienced vapers and a terrible starting point if you're trying to quit cigarettes.

RDL (restricted direct-to-lung) sits between the two. Some people drift toward it after a few months on MTL.

Most beginner kits are MTL or adjustable between MTL and RDL. Our guide to vaping styles goes deeper if you want the full picture.

E-Liquid Basics - What Goes in Your Vape

Every e-liquid has four ingredients: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), nicotine, and flavouring.

PG carries flavour and creates throat hit. VG makes the visible vapour. The ratio between them matters. A 50/50 split works well in most pod kits, and that's what the majority of nic salt e-liquids and 50/50 e-liquids use. Higher VG ratios (70/30 or above) are for bigger kits with more wattage.

If you want the full breakdown, our e-liquids 101 guide covers ingredients, ratios, and how to match liquids to kits.

Nicotine Strength - Getting This Right Matters Most

Get the nicotine wrong and nothing else matters. Too low and you'll be back on cigarettes within days. Too high and it'll be harsh and unpleasant.

There are two types of nicotine in e-liquid:

Nicotine salts are smooth even at higher strengths. They hit your bloodstream fast, which feels closer to a cigarette. Available in 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg. This is what most people switching from smoking should use. Our nic salt guide explains the science, and the strengths guide helps you pick between 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg.

Freebase nicotine gives a stronger throat hit but gets harsh above 12mg. It's the traditional type. Available from 3mg to 18mg.

Quick starting point:

There's a more detailed version in our nicotine strength guide for smokers. If you're not sure, start slightly higher than you think you need. You can always step down later, but starting too low usually means going back to cigarettes.

Flavour - Keep It Simple at First

Fruit flavours are the most popular by a long way, followed by menthol and then dessert. Tobacco flavours account for less than 10% of the market now, though they're useful as a starting point if you're nervous about the change.

Buy 2-3 different 10ml bottles to start. One fruit, one menthol if you like fresh tastes, one tobacco if you want familiar ground. Your taste buds recover fast once you stop smoking, so what you like in week one might be completely different by week four. Don't buy in bulk yet.

Browse by flavour type: fruit, menthol, tobacco, candy and sweet.

Your First Week - What to Expect

The first few days feel odd. The vapour is different from smoke, the nicotine hits differently, and your brain keeps expecting a cigarette even when the craving has technically been satisfied. That's normal and it passes.

Some practical things that help:

• Charge the battery fully before you start
• Prime new coils or pods by letting them sit with liquid for 10 minutes before you vape. Our priming guide walks through this
• Take shorter, slower draws than you would on a cigarette
• Keep the vape with you constantly for the first week. Reach for it before cravings build
• Don't try to cut down straight away. Replace first, reduce later

If the flavour goes off after a week or two, it's probably the coil. Coils are a consumable part - they wear out and need swapping every 1-2 weeks. Our coils guide covers when and how to change them.

Common Problems and Quick Fixes

Where to Go From Here

Once you're comfortable with the basics, there's plenty to explore. You don't need to read all of these - just pick what's relevant:

• What wattage should you vape at
• Am I using the right e-liquid?
• Battery and coil safety
• How to maintain your kit
• Best starter kits to quit smoking

If you get stuck at any point, our support team is on live chat during opening hours. That's what we're here for.