MTL vs DTL vs RDL: Vaping Styles Explained
MTL, DTL and RDL are the three main vaping styles. Each one gives you a different draw, different cloud size and works best with different e-liquids. Picking the right style from the start makes a real difference to how much you enjoy vaping. This guide covers what MTL, DTL and RDL actually mean, what kit and e-liquid each one needs, and how to work out which suits you. What Is MTL Vaping? MTL stands for mouth-to-lung and it's the most common style for new vapers. You pull vapour into your mouth first, pause for a second, then breathe it down into your lungs. It's the same action as smoking a cigarette, and that's why most people switching from smoking start here. MTL vaping uses higher resistance coils, usually 0.8 ohm and above. You run them at lower wattages between 8 and 25W. Airflow is set tight so you get a restricted draw with a noticeable throat hit. For e-liquid, nic salts between 10 and 20mg work best for MTL. A 50/50 VG/PG mix wicks well in higher resistance coils and carries flavour well. Freebase nicotine at 6 to 12mg also works if you want a sharper throat feel. MTL Specs Detail Coil resistance 0.8 ohm and above Wattage 8 to 25W Airflow Tight, restricted Nicotine 10 - 20mg nic salt or 6 - 12mg freebase E-liquid ratio 50/50 VG/PG Cloud size Small Throat hit Strong What Is DTL Vaping? DTL stands for direct-to-lung and it's aimed at vapers who want bigger clouds and warmer vapour. Instead of holding vapour in your mouth, you breathe it straight into your lungs in one go. It feels more like taking a deep breath than smoking, and it takes a bit of getting used to if you're coming from cigarettes. DTL uses sub-ohm coils below 0.5 ohm at higher wattages, typically 40W and above. Airflow sits wide open so you can pull a full lung hit without any restriction. You get bigger clouds, warmer vapour and more concentrated flavour. Shortfill e-liquids are the standard for DTL because of their high VG content. High VG mixes at 70/30 or 80/20 create thick clouds and need the extra heat from sub-ohm coils to vaporise. Keep nicotine at 3 to 6mg max for DTL because the large vapour volume makes anything stronger and very harsh. DTL Specs Detail Coil resistance Below 0.5 ohm Wattage 40W and above Airflow Wide open Nicotine 0 to 6mg (freebase or nic shot) E-liquid ratio 70/30 or 80/20 VG/PG Cloud size Large Throat hit Mild to none What Is RDL Vaping? RDL stands for restricted direct-to-lung and it's grown popular in the last couple of years. It sits right between MTL and DTL in terms of draw and vapour. You still inhale directly to your lungs like DTL, but the airflow is partly closed off so the draw feels tighter. You get more vapour than MTL but without the full intensity of DTL. RDL has picked up a lot of popularity because it gives you a good balance. You get decent clouds and solid flavour without needing to run high wattages or go through juice as fast as DTL. A lot of vapers land on RDL after trying both MTL and DTL and wanting something in between. Coils between 0.4 and 0.8 ohm work well for RDL at 15 to 35W. For e-liquid you've got more flexibility with RDL than either of the other two styles. Nic salts at 6 to 10mg or shortfills at 3 to 6mg both work. A 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG mix handles the slightly higher wattage without being too thick for the coil to wick. RDL Specs Detail Coil resistance 0.4 to 0.8 ohm Wattage 15 to 35W Airflow Partially restricted Nicotine 6 to 10mg nic salt or 3 to 6mg freebase E-liquid ratio 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG Cloud size Medium Throat hit Moderate MTL vs DTL: Key Differences At its simplest, the difference between MTL and DTL is the draw. MTL mimics the feel and action of smoking a cigarette. DTL is a completely different experience from anything related to cigarette smoking. Everything else follows from that, including the coil, wattage, e-liquid and nicotine strength you need. MTL DTL Draw style Mouth first, then lungs Straight to lungs Feels like Smoking a cigarette Taking a deep breath Coil 0.8 ohm+ Below 0.5 ohm Wattage 8 to 25W 40W+ Nicotine 10 to 20mg nic salt 0 to 6mg E-liquid 50/50 70/30 or 80/20 Clouds Small, discreet Large Throat hit Strong Mild Juice usage Low High Battery drain Low High If you're switching from cigarettes, MTL is the easier transition. The throat hit and draw will feel familiar from day one. DTL works better for vapers who've moved past that stage and want bigger flavour and clouds. RDL vs MTL RDL and MTL share some ground but they feel different in practice. MTL is tighter, lower powered and works best with nic salts at higher strengths. RDL opens the airflow up a notch and runs at slightly higher wattages for more vapour without the full DTL commitment. The biggest practical difference between RDL and MTL is e-liquid flexibility. MTL works best with 50/50 mixes and nicotine at 10mg or above. RDL handles both nic salts and shortfills, so you've got more choice in what you vape. If MTL feels too tight and DTL feels like too much, try RDL with a 0.6 ohm coil and the airflow half open. Best E-Liquid for Each Vaping Style [THREE_IMAGE_SHORTCODE] [shotcode_multi_image_section_11] Getting the right e-liquid for your vaping style matters as much as picking the right kit. The wrong VG/PG ratio won't wick and the wrong nicotine strength will either be too harsh or leave you unsatisfied. Style Best E-Liquid Nicotine Why MTL 50/50 nic salt 10 to 20mg Thinner liquid wicks in high-ohm coils, smooth throat hit DTL High VG shortfill 70/30+ 0 to 6mg Thick liquid needs sub-ohm heat, low nic avoids harshness RDL 60/40 to 70/30 nic salt or shortfill 3 to 10mg Mid-range viscosity suits 0.4 to 0.8 ohm coils One common mistake is using high VG shortfills in an MTL kit. High VG liquid is too thick for higher resistance coils to wick, so you'll get dry hits and burnt coils. Going the other way, running high nicotine nic salts through a DTL sub-ohm coil at 50W will be uncomfortably strong. Are Disposable Vapes MTL or DTL? Most disposable vapes on the market use an MTL draw. They use higher resistance coils with tight airflow and come filled with nic salt e-liquid at 10 or 20mg. Draw feels similar to a cigarette and they're built to mimic that experience. Some larger disposables and prefilled pod kits offer an RDL draw with a slightly looser pull and lower coil resistance. If you're moving from disposables to a refillable kit, an MTL pod kit with 20mg nic salt will feel the most familiar. Vaporesso XROS vs Luxe: MTL or DTL? The Vaporesso XROS range is built around MTL and RDL vaping. XROS pods use higher resistance coils at 0.6 ohm and above with adjustable airflow that goes from tight MTL to a loose RDL pull. If you want a cigarette-style draw with nic salts, the XROS is the range to look at. The Vaporesso Luxe range covers MTL through to DTL depending on the pod and coil you use. The Luxe XR Max 2 goes up to 80W with 0.2 ohm GTX coils for full DTL. Fit a higher resistance pod and it handles MTL just as well. It's the more flexible of the two ranges if you want to try different styles without buying a second kit. Vaporesso Armour G vs Luxe XR Max 2 Both the Armour G and Luxe XR Max 2 run up to 80W on Vaporesso's GTX coil range. They handle MTL with a 1.2 ohm coil and DTL with a 0.2 ohm, so both cover all three vaping styles. The Armour G has a 3000mAh built-in battery and a leather grip panel. On the Luxe side, the XR Max 2 has a slightly larger juice capacity and a different pod shape. If you're choosing between them for DTL specifically, either one will do the job at 55 to 80W with a sub-ohm GTX coil. For a full breakdown of each kit, check the product pages linked above. How to Pick the Right Vaping Style If you're not sure where to start, here's a quick way to narrow it down. Start with MTL if you: Are switching from cigarettes or disposables Want a familiar smoking-style draw Prefer smaller, pocket-friendly kits Want to use nic salts at 10 to 20mg Try DTL if you: Have been vaping for a while and want more vapour Enjoy bigger clouds and warmer draws Are happy using 0 to 6mg nicotine Don't mind going through more e-liquid Go for RDL if you: Find MTL too tight but DTL too airy Want decent clouds without high wattage Like the flexibility of using nic salts or shortfills Want one kit that sits comfortably in the middle A lot of vapers end up owning more than one kit. An MTL pod for when you're out and a DTL or RDL setup for home is a common combination. There's no rule that says you have to pick one style and stick with it. Related products & ranges MTL pod kits DTL tanks & mods Nic salt e-liquids More vaping guides How to choose a pod kit Nic salts explained
Beginner's Guide to Vaping: What to Know Before You Start
Ready to start? Browse beginner vape kits and pod kits. 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 - vape 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 [THREE_IMAGE_SHORTCODE] [shotcode_multi_image_section_12] 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: How much you smoke Start with Under 10 a day 5-10mg nic salt 10-20 a day 10-15mg nic salt 20+ a day 15-20mg nic salt 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 Problem Likely cause Fix Flavour tastes burnt Coil is worn out or wasn't primed Swap the coil, prime the new one Harsh on your throat Nicotine too high, or using freebase Drop the strength or try nic salts Barely any vapour Low battery or old coil Charge up and check the coil Leaking Overfilled, or damaged seal Leave air gap when filling, check seals Still craving cigarettes Nicotine too low Increase strength - better to succeed at 20mg than fail at 10mg 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. Related products & ranges All vape kits Pod kits Shop all e-liquids More vaping guides How to choose a vape kit What wattage should you vape at? MTL vs DTL vs RDL
Are OXVA Vapes MTL or DTL? Every Kit Explained
Most OXVA vapes do both MTL and RDL. A few go further into DTL territory too. It depends on the kit and the pod inside it. Every kit in the Xlim range covers MTL and RDL. The VPrime adds DTL on top. This guide explains how draw styles work across OXVA kits, rather than recommending a specific model. All of them have airflow control, so you can tighten or loosen the draw yourself. Not sure what MTL, RDL, and DTL actually mean? I've covered that next. What MTL, DTL, and RDL Mean Three ways to inhale. Each changes how the draw feels, how much vapour you get, and what nicotine strength works. MTL: Mouth to Lung Same as smoking a cigarette. Vapour goes into your mouth first, then you breathe it down. Tight airflow, not much vapour, and you can run higher nicotine (10mg to 20mg nic salt e-liquids) without it being too much. If you're coming off cigarettes, this is the style you want. DTL: Direct to Lung Skip the mouth, breathe straight into your lungs. Big clouds, wide open airflow, and you drop the nicotine right down to 3mg or 6mg freebase. Too much nicotine at this wattage and airflow will floor you. Vapers who've been off cigarettes for a while tend to drift toward DTL for the vapour and flavour. RDL: Restricted Direct to Lung Middle ground. More air than MTL, less than DTL. You still inhale to the lungs but there's some resistance in the draw. Works well at 6mg to 12mg nicotine. A lot of vapers settle here because it's got enough vapour to feel satisfying without filling every room with clouds. Our full guide to MTL, RDL, and DTL vaping goes deeper into picking the right style if you're still deciding. Which OXVA Kits Do What Kit MTL RDL DTL Max Output Xlim Go 2 Yes Yes No 25W Xlim Pro 2 Yes Yes No 30W Xlim Pro 3 Yes Yes No 30W Xlim 3 Ultra Yes Yes No 30W Xlim SQ Pro 2 Yes Yes No 30W Xlim Pro 2 DNA Yes Yes No 30W NeXlim Yes Yes No 40W VPrime Yes Yes Yes 60W Every Xlim kit covers MTL and RDL through pod choice and airflow adjustment. None of them go into true DTL. The VPrime is the only OXVA kit that handles all three styles including full DTL with 0.2 ohm pods at 60W. How Pod Resistance Changes the Style Which pod you use matters more than the kit itself. Lower resistance pods run at higher wattage and produce more vapour. Higher resistance pods run cooler with a tighter draw. Pod Resistance Vaping Style Wattage Range Best Nicotine 1.2 ohm Tight MTL 10 to 12W 20mg nic salt 0.8 ohm MTL 12 to 16W 10mg to 20mg nic salt 0.6 ohm RDL 20 to 25W 6mg to 10mg nic salt or freebase 0.4 ohm Loose RDL 26 to 30W 6mg freebase 0.2 ohm (VPrime only) DTL 40 to 60W 3mg to 6mg freebase Pair the right pod with the right nicotine strength. Using 20mg of nic salt in a 0.2 ohm pod at 60W would be far too much nicotine per puff. Using 3mg freebase in a 1.2 ohm pod would feel like vaping thin air. Airflow Control Every OXVA kit has an airflow slider. Close it down for a tighter MTL draw. Open it up for a looser RDL or DTL inhale. On kits like the Xlim Pro 3, the airflow slider has a noticeable range. Fully closed on a 0.8 ohm pod gives you a draw close to a cigarette. Open it halfway on a 0.6 ohm pod and the draw loosens up for RDL. At 40W, the NeXlim with the 0.6 ohm pod and airflow open sits right on the border of RDL and loose MTL. It's the most versatile Xlim kit for people who want to experiment with both styles without buying a VPrime. OXVA for Smokers Switching Over If you're coming from cigarettes or disposables, you want MTL. That's the draw style closest to smoking. Any Xlim kit with a 0.8 or 1.2 ohm pod and the airflow closed down will give you that tight, cigarette-style draw. Use 20mg nic salt e-liquid at 50/50 VG/PG for the closest match to a cigarette's nicotine hit. Disposable vapes like Elf Bars and Lost Mary are MTL. If you've been using those and want to go refillable, the Xlim range gives you the same draw feel. Better flavour and lower running costs too. Browse the full OXVA pod range to find the right resistance for your style. OXVA for DTL Vapers Only one option here: the VPrime. At 60W with 0.2 ohm pods and the airflow wide open, you get a full DTL vape with big vapour and strong flavour. Xlim kits cap at 30W (40W for the NeXlim) and don't go below 0.4 ohm pods. You can get a loose RDL draw from them, but they won't satisfy someone who wants full DTL clouds. If that's you, the VPrime is the only OXVA kit built for it. Use high VG e-liquid (70/30 or 80/20) at 3mg to 6mg freebase nicotine in the VPrime's DTL pods. Nic salt at DTL wattages hits too hard for most people. Related products & ranges OXVA kits & pods OXVA Xlim series OXVA replacement pods More vaping guides OXVA Xlim 2025 full round-up MTL vs DTL vs RDL explained Best e-liquid for OXVA vapes
Choosing Between 0.6 and 0.8 OXVA Xlim Pods
Need new pods? Shop OXVA Xlim pods or the full OXVA Xlim range. Pick up two OXVA Xlim pods and they look identical from the outside. One says 0.6 ohm, the other says 0.8 ohm. But put them in your kit and they vape completely differently. Wrong choice and your setup will feel off no matter what wattage you run. I've sold both to thousands of customers at our Ecigone vape shop since the Xlim range launched. Most people know which they prefer within a few draws. Here's what each one actually does and how to get the best out of it. 0.6 Ohm vs 0.8 Ohm: The Short Version If you just want the answer, here it is. 0.6 Ohm 0.8 Ohm Draw Style Restricted direct lung (RDL) Mouth to lung (MTL) Best Wattage 23 to 28W 12 to 16W Throat Hit Softer, warmer Stronger, tighter Vapour More visible clouds Discreet, minimal Best Nic Strength 6mg to 12mg nicotine salts 10mg to 20mg nic salt Best VG/PG Ratio 60/40 or 50/50 50/50 Battery Drain Faster (higher wattage) Slower (lower wattage) Pod Life Slightly shorter Slightly longer Best For More flavour, more vapour Ex-smokers, stealth vaping That table covers the basics. Read on for the details behind each point. What 0.6 Ohm Pods Give You More vapour, more flavour, looser draw. You inhale straight to your lungs with a slight restriction, which vapers call restricted direct lung (RDL). Think of it as a step up from cigarette-style vaping without going full cloud chaser. Because the wattage sits higher at 23 to 28W, more e-liquid gets heated per puff. Dessert and fruit flavours really come alive on 0.6 ohm pods. You taste layers you'd miss on a tighter draw. Your battery won't last as long though. On an Xlim Go 2 with its 1000mAh battery, you'll feel the difference by mid-afternoon. Xlim Pro 3 and 3 Ultra have bigger batteries so they handle it better. What 0.8 Ohm Pods Give You This is the one for ex-smokers. You pull vapour into your mouth first, then inhale, just like a cigarette. That's mouth to lung (MTL) vaping and it's what most people switching from smoking are after. At 12 to 16W, you're running much less power than a 0.6 ohm pod. Less vapour comes out, but the throat hit is stronger and more concentrated. Pair it with 20mg nic salt and it scratches the itch that cigarettes left behind. Coil life is a bit longer too. Less heat going through the mesh means less wear, so you'll get an extra day or two from each pod before the flavour drops off. Wattage Settings by Pod Resistance This is where most people go wrong. Run a 0.8 ohm pod at 25W and you'll burn the coils out in two days. Stick a 0.6 ohm pod at 12W and you'll barely taste anything. Pod Resistance Minimum Sweet Spot Maximum 0.4 ohm 22W 26 to 30W 30W 0.6 ohm 18W 23 to 28W 30W 0.8 ohm 10W 12 to 16W 20W 1.2 ohm 8W 10 to 14W 18W On kits with a screen like the Pro 3, SQ Pro 2, and 3 Ultra, you set the wattage yourself. The chipset reads what pod you've put in and suggests a range. On the Xlim Go 2, it does it on its own. Flavour tasting weak on a 0.6 ohm pod? Bump it up 2W at a time. Getting a harsh vape on 0.8 ohm? Drop it down a notch. Small changes go a long way. Which E-Liquid Works Best Get the liquid wrong for your pod and you'll either burn through coils or wonder why the flavour is flat. For 0.8 Ohm Pods Nic salt at 10mg or 20mg, 50/50 VG/PG. Because the draw is tight and the wattage is low, each puff is concentrated. 20mg nic salt through a 0.8 ohm pod hits the spot without going overboard. Stay away from 70/30 VG or above. Thick liquid can't wick fast enough at lower wattages and you'll get dry hits. 50/50 is the safe bet every time. For 0.6 Ohm Pods Drop the nicotine down. 6mg to 12mg nic salt or 3mg to 6mg freebase. Both 50/50 and 60/40 VG/PG work well here since the higher wattage handles slightly thicker liquid without a problem. One thing to watch out for: 20mg nic salt at 25W hits much harder than you'd think. More vapour per draw means more nicotine per draw. If you're moving from 0.8 to 0.6 ohm pods, drop your strength down at the same time. Quick E-Liquid Pairing Table Pod Nic Salt Freebase VG/PG 0.6 ohm 6mg to 12mg 3mg to 6mg 50/50 or 60/40 0.8 ohm 10mg to 20mg 6mg to 12mg 50/50 1.2 ohm 20mg Not recommended 50/50 0.4 ohm 6mg to 10mg 3mg to 6mg 50/50 or 60/40 OXVA pods work best with 50/50 VG/PG e-liquids at the nicotine strengths listed above. If you want a matched option, our OX Passion Nic Salts range uses a 50/50 blend at 10mg and 20mg. Which Pod Fits Which Kit Good news here. All 0.6 and 0.8 ohm Xlim pods fit across most of the range. You don't need different pods for different kits. Pod Type Fits These Kits Xlim V3 (top fill) Xlim Go 2, Xlim Pro 3, Xlim 3 Ultra, SQ Pro 2, Pro 2 DNA Xlim V2 (side fill) Xlim Go 2, Xlim Pro 3, older Xlim kits Xlim EZ Xlim Go 2, SQ Pro, older Xlim kits NeXlim and VPrime are the exceptions. They use their own pods and won't take Xlim pods at all. The full compatibility list is on our OXVA Pods page. Common Mistakes Running 0.8 ohm pods too hot. Anything above 20W and the coil burns out fast. Keep it between 12 and 16W. I see this one all the time when people switch from 0.6 to 0.8 and forget to drop the wattage. 20mg nic salt in a 0.6 ohm pod. Too much nicotine per puff for most people. Drop to 10mg or 12mg. Thick liquid in 0.8 ohm pods. 70/30 VG and above is too heavy. Stick with 50/50. Dry hits are almost always a wicking issue from liquid that's too thick for the pod. Writing off a resistance after one draw. Fresh coils need a few hours to break in properly. Give each pod half a day before you decide. How Pod Resistance Affects Cost Pod price is the same for both resistances. Where the cost differs is in how fast you go through liquid and how long each pod lasts. On 0.6 ohm, expect to go through 3 to 4ml of liquid per day. On 0.8 ohm, more like 2 to 3ml. Over a month that adds up, especially if you're buying 10ml bottles. 0.8 ohm pods also tend to last a day or two longer before the flavour fades. Less heat through the coil means less wear on the mesh. Not a huge difference week to week, but over a few months you'll buy fewer pods. Battery-wise, 0.8 ohm wins again. An Xlim Go 2 on 0.8 ohm pods will comfortably last a full day. The same kit on 0.6 ohm at double the wattage might need a top-up charge by evening. My Recommendation Coming off cigarettes? 0.8 ohm pods with 20mg of nic salt. That tight draw and concentrated throat hit is the closest thing to smoking you'll get from a vape. It's the setup I recommend to every new customer who's switching. Already vaping and want a bit more from your flavour? Give 0.6 ohm a go. Drop your nic strength to 10mg or 12mg, set the wattage around 25W, and see how you get on. Most people who try it don't go back. Not sure at all? Most OXVA Xlim vape Series kits come with a 0.6 and a 0.8 ohm pod in the box. Try each one for a day and you'll know. Related products & ranges OXVA Xlim pods Shop the OXVA Xlim range Shop all OXVA More vaping guides OXVA Nexlim beginner's guide Why the OXVA Xlim dominates pod systems
Are ElfBars Safe? ElfBar Safety Guide for UK Vapers
Are They Safe? Short answer: Elf Bar vapes sold through authorised UK retailers and any online vape shop are TPD compliant and registered with the MHRA. They meet UK safety standards for nicotine content, e-liquid volume, and packaging. They're not risk free though. No vaping product is. The NHS says vaping is far less harmful than smoking, and Cancer Research UK confirms e-cigarettes don't contain tobacco or most of the toxic chemicals you'd find in cigarettes. That doesn't mean zero risk. It means lower risk than the alternative for adult smokers looking to switch. Not intended for non-smokers or anyone under 18. Ingredients Four ingredients inside every UK legal Elf Bar. Nothing exotic. Ingredient What It Does Propylene Glycol (PG) Carries flavour, gives throat hit. Food grade. Used in medicines and food. Vegetable Glycerin (VG) Creates the vapour. Food grade. Found in cosmetics and food products. Flavourings Food grade compounds. Different combinations for each Elf Bar flavour. Nicotine Salt 20mg/ml in standard UK pods. Smoother than freebase nicotine at the same strength. TPD rules mean the packaging has to list all ingredients and carry health warnings. No ingredients list on the box? Probably not genuine. Zero nicotine options are also available across some ranges if you've already stepped down. Do Elf Bars Contain Diacetyl? This one comes up a lot. Diacetyl got linked to "popcorn lung" years ago when factory workers inhaled high concentrations in food manufacturing plants. It's been banned from UK e-liquids under TPD rules since then. Elf Bar says their UK products don't contain it. Buy genuine from authorised UK retailers and you're covered by those regulations. Counterfeits? No idea what's in them. Nobody can verify it. Nicotine Content 20mg/ml nic salt e-liquids. That's what you get in standard UK Elf Bar pods, and it's the maximum allowed under TPD law. Nic salt absorbs faster than freebase nicotine so the hit comes quicker with less throat harshness at the same strength. Elf Bar vs Cigarettes: Nicotine Comparison People ask this constantly, but comparing nicotine in an Elf Bar to a cigarette isn't as simple as matching numbers. A cigarette holds roughly 10-12mg of nicotine. You only absorb about 1-2mg of that per cigarette though. Elf Bar pods deliver nicotine through vapour instead of smoke, so the absorption works differently. Factor Cigarette Elf Bar (20mg) Nicotine per unit ~10-12mg per cigarette 20mg/ml in 2ml pod Nicotine absorbed ~1-2mg per cigarette Varies by draw length and frequency Delivery method Combustion (burns tobacco) Vapour (heats e-liquid) Tar Yes No Carbon monoxide Yes No The nicotine level isn't really the point though. It's everything else. Cigarettes burn tobacco and produce tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of other chemicals in the process. Elf Bars heat liquid. Nothing burns. Elf Bar Nicotine Strength Options 20mg nic salt comes as standard across all Elf Bar refill pods. Some ranges stock 10mg too. If you've stepped down completely, zero nicotine pods are available. Too strong at 20mg? The ELFLIQ nic salt e-liquid range is 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg for refillable kits. Our nic salt strengths guide covers which strength works for different habits. Side Effects Switching from cigarettes to vaping can throw up a few things your body isn't used to. Most of it settles down within a week or two. Coughing and Sore Throat Really common in the first few days. Your throat's adjusting to vapour instead of smoke and the sensation is different. Shorter, gentler draws help a lot. Still coughing after a couple of weeks? Worth a chat with your GP. 20mg nic salt doesn't mess about either. That strength hits the throat firmly. Dropping to 10mg or switching to a lower powered pod kit with refillable pods takes the edge off if it's too much. Feeling Sick or Dizzy That's the nicotine. Happens when you vape more than your body can handle in one go. Chain vaping and long deep draws are the usual culprits. Space your puffs out a bit and drink some water. Worth saying: if you weren't a smoker before and an Elf Bar is making you feel rough, that's nicotine hitting a body that isn't used to it. These products exist as a smoking alternative for adults, not as something to pick up fresh. Allergic Reactions Uncommon but it happens. Some people react to propylene glycol with skin irritation, a rash, or extra throat discomfort. If something feels off after vaping that you don't normally get, stop using it and talk to your GP. Overheating and Safety Issues Your Elf Bar getting slightly warm while you vape? Normal. The battery and replacement coils both generate heat during use. That's just physics. What's not normal is a vape that feels properly hot, won't stop producing vapour on its own, or gets warm sitting in your pocket when you haven't touched it. Issue What's Going On What You Should Do Warm during use Normal. Battery and coil working. Nothing. Carry on. Hot when not in use Battery fault or auto-firing. Stop using it straight away. Don't try charging it. Won't stop firing Auto-fire fault. Coil stays active on its own. Pull the pod out if you can. Don't leave it sitting somewhere flammable. Smoking by itself Internal short or liquid on the contacts. Stop using. Take it to a battery recycling point. Nine times out of ten, overheating traces back to counterfeit products, damaged batteries, or someone leaving their vape baking on a car dashboard in summer. Buy genuine, store at room temperature, and most of this never happens. If your Elf Bar starts firing on its own, don't try opening it or fixing it yourself. Pod out, non-flammable surface, battery recycling point. That's the lot. How to Tell If Your Elf Bar Is Genuine Counterfeits are the real safety problem. Fake Elf Bars don't go through TPD testing, so what's actually inside them is anyone's guess. Wrong nicotine levels, unknown chemicals, dodgy batteries. All possible. Every genuine Elf Bar has a scratch panel on the packaging with an authentication code underneath. Enter that code on Elf Bar's website and it'll tell you straight away if the product is real. Fakes either fail the check or show up as a code that's already been used a hundred times. Red flags to watch for: Health warnings missing or badly printed No TPD compliance info anywhere on the box Price that seems too good to be true Spelling mistakes on the packaging Taste or feel that's noticeably different from the same flavour you've had before Ecigone is an authorised Elf Bar stockist. Authentication codes verified on every product we sell. UK Vaping Regulations and Elf Bar Everything Elf Bar sells in the UK has to pass through the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). Here's what that actually means in practice: TPD Rule What It Means Max e-liquid volume 2ml per prefilled pod, 10ml per bottle for refills Max nicotine strength 20mg/ml. Nothing stronger is legal in the UK. Health warnings Must be printed on every box MHRA registration Every product registered before it goes on sale Ingredient disclosure Full ingredients list on the packaging Child resistant packaging Required across the board Since June 2025, single use disposable vapes have been banned in the UK. Elf Bar made the switch to rechargeable pod kits with replaceable prefilled pods before the deadline. The Elf Bar 600 Prefilled Pod Kit, Dual 10K, JoinOne15, and Plus 50 are all legal rechargeable alternatives you can buy right now. Our disposable vape ban guide covers the full picture of what changed and why. Safety Tips Check the authentication code on every pack. Takes 30 seconds and rules out counterfeits. Leave 20-30 seconds between draws. Coils overheat when you chain vape. Give it a breather. Room temperature storage. Hot cars, direct sunlight, and damp conditions all damage batteries and e-liquid quality. Standard USB-C cable for charging. Don't leave it plugged in overnight or unattended for hours. Burnt taste, overheating, or auto-firing? Replace it. Don't try to fix a faulty vape. Keep them away from children and pets. Nicotine is toxic if swallowed. All Elf Bar products are for adults only. Battery recycling point when you're done. Household bins aren't the place for lithium batteries. Elf Bar Safety: FAQs Are Elf Bars safe to use daily?Used as intended, a genuine Elf Bar bought from a UK retailer is far less harmful than smoking, though not risk-free. Always buy genuine, avoid fakes, and store the device safely. Related products & ranges Shop Elfliq nic salts by Elf Bar More vaping guides UK vaping laws explained
Are Lost Mary Vapes Safe? What's Actually In Them
People searching for Lost Mary safety information usually want straight answers, not marketing. This page covers Lost Mary ingredients, what the UK regulations say, and the specific safety questions that come up most often. Ecigone sells Lost Mary vape products, so this is not a neutral source. For independent health guidance on vaping, the NHS vaping page has the most up-to-date UK position. What this guide does is set out exactly what Lost Mary products contain, how the products are regulated by the MHRA in the UK, and how to spot counterfeits that bypass those rules. What Is In a Lost Mary Vape? Every Lost Mary vape sold legally in the UK contains the same four base ingredients. There is nothing unusual in the mix compared to other UK legal e-liquids registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Ingredient What It Is Propylene Glycol (PG) Carries the flavour and creates the throat hit. Also used in food, medicine, and cosmetic products. Vegetable Glycerine (VG) Creates the visible vapour cloud. Also used in food and pharmaceutical products. Nicotine Salt 20mg nic salt in every prefilled Lost Mary pod. Lost Mary bottled nic salts are sold in 10mg and 20mg. Food-Grade Flavourings The flavour compounds that create each pod profile. Vary by flavour. That is the full list. No tobacco. No tar. No carbon monoxide. The e-liquid is heated by a replacement coils to create vapour rather than burned, so there is no combustion involved. Are Lost Mary Vapes Bad for Vapers? No vape is risk-free. The current UK position from the NHS and Public Health England is that vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking cigarettes for adult smokers who switch completely. Lost Mary products are subject to the same MHRA notification, ingredient limits, and emissions testing as every other UK legal vape. Lost Mary vapes do contain nicotine, which is addictive. The 20mg nic salt strength on every prefilled pod is the UK legal maximum. People who do not smoke and who do not currently vape are advised by the NHS not to start. People under 18 cannot legally buy any Lost Mary product in the UK. Anyone with a specific medical condition, who is pregnant, or who is unsure about whether vaping is right for their personal circumstances should speak to a GP or pharmacist rather than rely on a retailer page. Do Lost Mary Vapes Contain Diacetyl? No. Diacetyl is banned in e-liquids sold in the UK under the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). All Lost Mary products sold through UK authorised retailers are TPD compliant and do not contain diacetyl. Diacetyl is a buttery flavouring compound that was linked to lung problems in factory workers exposed to very high airborne concentrations. It was used in some early US e-liquids years ago. UK e-liquids have not been allowed to contain diacetyl for several years now. The diacetyl-free position only holds for Lost Mary products bought through an authorised UK retailer. Counterfeit vapes from unofficial sources skip the TPD process and there is no way to know what they contain. Do Lost Mary Vapes Contain Formaldehyde? Formaldehyde is not an ingredient in Lost Mary e-liquid. Trace amounts can be produced when any e-liquid is heated, but the amounts are far below what cigarette smoke contains under normal vaping conditions. Most of the formaldehyde concern in vaping came from early laboratory studies that overheated coils at temperatures higher than any real-world vape would reach. Under normal use with a working coil and a fresh pod, formaldehyde production is minimal. Lost Mary prefilled pods are sealed and run at a fixed wattage with no adjustable settings. The coil cannot be overheated because the kit body has no power-adjustment buttons. The wattage stays at the level Lost Mary set it to during manufacture. Are Lost Mary Vapes TPD Compliant? Yes. Every Lost Mary product on legal UK sale must meet TPD regulations. In practice that covers: 2ml maximum pod capacity (the BM6000 uses a 2ml pod with a separate 10ml auto-refill container) 20mg maximum nicotine strength for prefilled products Banned ingredients including diacetyl are not permitted Emissions testing before products can be sold in the UK Child-resistant packaging on all products Health warnings printed on packaging MHRA notification number on the packaging of every prefilled pod kit TPD compliance is checked at the manufacturing and import stage. Products that fail do not reach UK shelves through legitimate supply chains. This is also why authorised retailers matter - counterfeit Lost Mary products that skip this process have no guarantee of meeting any safety standard. Is Lost Mary a Good Vape Brand? Lost Mary is one of the best-selling vape brands in the UK. The brand is made by Shenzhen iMiracle Technology, the same parent company behind Elf Bar. The brand launched with disposable vapes and moved fully to prefilled pod kits after the UK disposable ban on 1st June 2025. For the regulatory background on what was banned and what stayed legal, see the Ecigone Lost Mary vape ban guide. The current Lost Mary prefilled kit range at Ecigone: Lost Mary BM600 pod kit - approximately 600 puffs per pod, compact pocket size Lost Mary BM6000 pod kit - approximately 6,000 puffs per refill pod with 10ml auto-refill container Lost Mary Nera 30K pod kit - approximately 30,000 puffs total across two prefilled pods, with a screen that displays battery and pod status Lost Mary Pro Max 7000 pod kit - approximately 7,000 puffs per refill pod, with replaceable Pro Max 7000 refill pods Lost Mary Hawcos Crystal Pro - clear-pod design with replaceable Crystal Pro refill pods Lost Mary Tappo - compact closed-pod kit with replaceable Tappo refill pods Lost Mary 4-in-1 pod kit - holds four prefilled pods at once with a switch to change flavour chamber The main strength of the Lost Mary range is simplicity. Every prefilled kit is draw-activated with no buttons or settings. Slot in a pod and vape. Build quality is consistent and the flavour range is one of the largest in the UK prefilled market - see the Ecigone Lost Mary flavours guide for the full taste profile breakdown. The main limitation is nicotine strength choice. Prefilled Lost Mary pods are only sold at 20mg nic salt. Vapers who want lower strengths or 0mg need to switch to a refillable kit filled with a chosen nic salt e-liquid. Who Makes Lost Mary Vapes? Lost Mary is made by Shenzhen iMiracle Technology Co., Ltd, based in Shenzhen, China. The same company is behind Elf Bar, one of the other top-selling vape brands in the UK. The brand name does not have a deep meaning behind it. iMiracle launched Lost Mary as a separate brand to sit alongside Elf Bar in the prefilled and disposable market. Both brands share manufacturing standards and quality control processes but carry distinct product lines and flavour ranges. Lost Mary products on UK sale go through the same TPD notification and MHRA testing process as every other legal vape product. The products are imported through authorised UK distributors and carry the regulatory markings on packaging. Lost Mary kits also need to be charged correctly to keep the battery and coil performing as designed - the Ecigone Lost Mary recharge guide covers the charging process for every kit in the range. How to Spot Fake Lost Mary Vapes Counterfeit Lost Mary products are common, especially from market stalls, social media sellers, and unverified online shops. Fakes do not go through TPD or MHRA testing, and there is no way to know what ingredients counterfeit products contain. Signs of a counterfeit Lost Mary: Spelling errors on the packaging or labelling Wrong colours on buttons, screen surrounds, or kit body compared to official images Missing or incorrect QR code (genuine products carry a verification code that scans to the official Lost Mary site) Unusual taste or flavour that does not match the named profile Suspiciously low pricing well below normal UK retail No TPD or MHRA health warnings on packaging No batch or production code on the box Lost Mary runs a verification tool on the official brand website where the QR code on a genuine pack can be scanned to confirm authenticity. Buying from an authorised UK retailer like Ecigone removes the counterfeit risk entirely - every Lost Mary product on the Ecigone site is sourced from official UK distributors with the full TPD paper trail. Related products & ranges Lost Mary range Lost Mary pods & refills Lost Mary BM6000 & refills More vaping guides Lost Mary flavour profiles Are Lost Mary pods nicotine free? Are Lost Mary vapes being banned?
Thailand Vaping Ban 2026: Fines, Prison & What UK Vapers Need to Know
Vaping is illegal in Thailand. Carrying a vape, using one, even having an empty pod in your bag can get you fined or arrested. We're talking £500+ in fines and up to 10 years in prison. Thailand's been one of the strictest countries on earth for vaping since 2014, and enforcement has only ramped up since. We've covered Thailand alongside 30+ other countries in our full banned countries guide, but this page breaks down the Thai rules in detail. The Law: What's Actually Banned All e-cigarettes have been banned here since 2014. The ban covers everything: refillable pod kits, prefilled vapes, disposables, e-liquids, heated tobacco (IQOS, glo, Ploom), and any accessories. Empty or full, nicotine or nicotine-free. All of it. The ban is backed by multiple laws. Under the Customs Act, bringing any vaping product into the country counts as importing banned goods. The Consumer Protection Act covers the sale side. And the Tobacco Control Act makes it a prosecutable offence to use a vape anywhere in Thailand, public or private. There's no tourist exemption and no personal use allowance. You can't declare a vape at customs to make it legal either. The law treats Thai citizens and visitors the same way, and everything vape-related is illegal regardless of nicotine content. Penalties: What Happens If You Get Caught Thai authorities don't give warnings. Get caught with a vape and you're looking at confiscation, fines, and potentially arrest. What you're charged with depends on what they think you were doing. Offence Fine Prison Possession or use Up to 30,000 Baht (roughly £680) Up to 1 year Importing (carrying it through customs) 4x the value of the goods + up to 30,000 Baht Up to 10 years Selling or suspected dealing Up to 600,000 Baht (roughly £13,500) Up to 3 years Most tourists caught with a single vape end up paying between 20,000 and 30,000 Baht (£450 to £680). But customs charges for importing can stack on top of possession charges. A £20 pod kit can easily become an £800+ problem after fines, legal costs, and a ruined itinerary. Missed flights, extended hotel stays, days wasted in police stations. It all adds up fast. How Strictly Is This Enforced? Strictly, and getting stricter. Thailand launched a major nationwide crackdown in early 2025. In just one week between late February and early March, police made 690 arrests across 666 separate vape cases. Nearly 455,000 vaping products were seized, worth over 41 million Baht. Customs pulled off a separate raid in March 2025 at Laem Chabang Port, intercepting over 200,000 smuggled e-cigarettes worth 33 million Baht. Airports are where most tourists get caught. Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok), Don Mueang, and Phuket all run regular bag checks. Customs officers know what vapes look like on X-ray, and there are warning posters in English, Thai, and Chinese plastered all over arrivals. Thailand also runs a public reward programme. Anyone who reports a vaping offence can receive up to 60% of the fine imposed. So it's not just the police you need to worry about. Hotel staff, taxi drivers, and fellow tourists can all report you. Why Thailand Bans Vaping It comes down to health policy and money. Thai officials see vaping as an unregulated nicotine product that puts young people at risk. But the bigger driver is Thailand's state tobacco monopoly, which pulls in massive tax revenue. Vaping threatens that. The irony isn't lost on anyone. You can buy cigarettes at any 7-Eleven in Thailand at 2am without a problem. But carrying a pod kit that helped you quit smoking back home? Criminal offence. Cannabis is another thing that confuses tourists. Medical cannabis was legalised and re-regulated in mid-2025, and you'll see cannabis shops in tourist areas. But vaping and cannabis sit under completely different laws. Being able to buy weed doesn't mean you can pull out a vape. The Black Market Problem Despite the ban, you can buy vapes on the street in Thailand. Markets, tourist areas, and online delivery all exist. It's all illegal, and we're not recommending any of it, but you should know the risks if you're tempted. Black market vapes in Thailand often run at 35mg or 50mg nicotine strength. The UK legal maximum is 20mg. Nobody's checking the liquid, nobody's testing the replacement coils, and the batteries could be anything. Zero quality control across the board. Buying one is also a separate offence. You're not just breaking the possession law. You're purchasing smuggled goods, and police know exactly where the street sellers operate. Officers regularly set up near market stalls and stop tourists who've just made a purchase. What to Do Instead If you can't vape in Thailand, you've still got a few ways to deal with the nicotine side of things. Nicotine patches and gum are legal and sold over the counter at Thai pharmacies including Boots and Watsons. Some 7-Elevens stock them too. You could also drop your nic strength before you fly. Going from 20mg down to 10mg a week or two before the trip makes patches or gum feel less like a downgrade. Honestly, most of the cravings hit during downtime. Keep busy with temples, beaches, and street food and you'll barely notice. Plenty of vapers treat the trip as a forced break and come home with a fresh take on how much they actually need nicotine day to day. If Things Go Wrong If customs find a vape in your bag or police stop you on the street, stay calm and don't argue. Cooperate, but don't sign anything you can't read. Ask for a translator. Call the British Embassy in Bangkok on +66 (0)2 305 8333 straight away. They can put you in touch with English-speaking lawyers. And whatever you do, don't try to bribe your way out. That's a separate offence and will make things much worse. Most tourist cases end with confiscation and a fine. Prison for simple possession is rare but it's on the books, and getting held for a day or two while things get sorted does happen. Coming Home: Get Your Setup Ready Coming back from Thailand means you can finally get your vape out again. If you've been running a refillable pod kit and fancy a change, or you want to stock up on nic salt e-liquids after two weeks off, we've got you sorted. Thailand's one of over 30 countries where vaping is illegal to some degree. For the full picture on where you can and can't vape worldwide, check our complete guide to countries where vapes are banned. Vaping in Thailand: FAQs Is vaping illegal in Thailand?Yes. Importing, selling and possessing vapes is illegal in Thailand in 2026, with fines and possible prison sentences. Can I vape in Thailand in 2026?No - the ban remains fully in force in 2026 and is actively enforced, including bag checks. Do not travel with your vape. Related products & ranges Shop vape kits for your return Refillable pod kits More vaping guides Travelling with vapes after the June rules UK vaping laws explained Countries where vaping is banned
Does Vaping Affect Fitness? What the Research Actually Shows
I got asked this on live chat last week and realised I'd never actually written about it. I've run Ecigone since 2014 and I've trained 4-5 days a week since I was 18, mostly bodybuilding with some cardio thrown in. I also vape all day, every day. 10mg nic salts, chain-vaping between emails, on the way to the gym, basically any time I'm not asleep. So yeah, I've got some skin in this game. In 2024, Manchester Metropolitan University published a study that put actual numbers on what a lot of us suspected. Vaping does affect your training. Here's what they found and what I've noticed from my own sessions. The Manchester Met Study: What They Found Sixty people in their twenties, split into three groups of twenty. Non-smokers who didn't vape, vapers with at least two years' use, and smokers with the same timeframe. All had normal lung function on paper. They stuck everyone on a stationary bike and pushed them to failure. Peak exercise capacity came out at: Non-users: 226 watts Vapers: 186 watts Smokers: 182 watts Vapers consumed 2.7 litres of oxygen per minute at peak effort. Non-users hit 3 litres. Both vapers and smokers showed impaired blood vessel function, higher lactate, and more breathlessness before they even reached maximum effort. Dr Azmy Faisal presented the findings at the European Respiratory Society Congress in September 2024. He was blunt about it. Vapers and smokers had measurably excessive breathing during testing and were less fit overall. Now, it's 60 people. The researchers said themselves that proving causation from this alone isn't possible. But it lines up with earlier work on nicotine and blood vessels. And it matches what I've felt in the gym for years without being able to put a number on it. Does Vaping Affect Running This is where the data hurts most. Cardio performance depends on oxygen uptake and how well your body moves it to working muscles. A 10% drop in peak oxygen consumption is a big deal over a 5K or a half marathon. That could mean hitting the wall earlier, fading on intervals, or watching your pace fall apart in the back half of a race. It won't stop you lacing up your trainers. But if you're chasing times, vaping is costing you something. Customers who run and vape tell me the same thing. Sessions feel harder after heavy vaping. A few have tried leaving the vape at home for a couple of hours before a run. Most say it makes a noticeable difference. Not transformative, but enough to feel. Does Vaping Affect Gym Performance Different story to running because you're not sustaining max output for 30 minutes. Resistance training is bursts of effort with rest in between, so your cardiovascular ceiling matters less rep to rep. Where it shows up is lactate. The study found vapers had higher lactate and more muscle fatigue at lower intensities than non-users. That burning feeling during a high-rep set? It's coming earlier and hitting harder if you vape. Drop sets, supersets, giant sets, anything that keeps you under tension without enough rest. That's where it catches up with you. Heavy singles and triples with three minutes between sets? Probably not going to feel much difference. What I Tried Myself I'm a chain vaper. I'll admit that. ADHD, running a business, and just being wired the way I am means my vape is basically glued to my hand. I usually train around 2pm and I'll be vaping right up to the gym car park. A couple of weeks ago I tried something different. Trained first thing, around 6am, straight after my first meal. Hadn't touched my vape since the night before. The difference surprised me. I felt stronger, hit more reps, and my breathing felt more controlled through the whole session. Then I tried a less extreme version. Stopped vaping at 1pm, trained at 2pm. Not the same eight-hour gap, but still noticeably better than my usual walk-in-vaping-until-the-last-second approach. I've stuck with it since. I'm not pretending this is science. It's one bloke in a gym in the north of England. But the study data on vasoconstriction supports it. Nicotine narrows your blood vessels and raises heart rate. Give it an hour to clear and those acute effects die down. You're still carrying any longer-term vascular changes, but you've taken the edge off. Vaping vs Smoking for Fitness Those Manchester Met numbers put vapers and smokers almost level on exercise capacity, and the headlines wrote themselves. But the full picture is different. Public Health England's position, backed up again in 2024, is that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. The NHS still recommends it as a quit tool. That 95% covers the big stuff: cancer risk, respiratory disease, tar damage, carbon monoxide exposure. Exercise capacity is one slice of a much larger pie. Smoking shoves carbon monoxide into your blood, where it fights oxygen for space on your red blood cells. It coats your lungs in tar. Vaping doesn't do either. But nicotine affects your blood vessels and heart rate no matter how you take it in, and that's what the exercise data is picking up. If you're smoking now and thinking about switching, do it. I smoked from my teens and the difference when I switched was night and day. Morning cough gone within weeks. Breathing during cardio improved fast. Customers tell me similar stories all the time, people going from wheezing up stairs to running 5Ks within a few months. If you don't smoke or vape, the Manchester Met research is one more reason to keep it that way. Getting More Out of Your Training Drop your nicotine strength. I'm on 10mg nic salts and I notice less impact than when I was on 20mg. Higher nicotine means stronger vasoconstriction. With a refillable pod kit and nic salt e-liquids you can step down at whatever pace works for you. Put the vape down before you train. An hour minimum. More if you can manage it. I know it's hard. Trust me, I know. Drink more water than you think you need. Propylene glycol in e-liquid absorbs moisture. You're already losing fluid through sweat. Double up. Actually track it. Log your workouts. Compare sessions where you vaped right beforehand versus sessions with a gap. Your own data will tell you more than any study. Related products & ranges All vape kits Pod kits Nic salt e-liquids More vaping guides Beginners guide to vaping Nicotine strength guide Switching from disposables
What Is Vape Juice Made Of?
Four ingredients go into UK vape juice: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), flavourings and nicotine. Every e-liquid sold in the UK has been through MHRA testing and TPD compliance checks before it can legally reach a shelf, and those four ingredients are the only things allowed in the bottle. Each vape juice ingredient is covered below, along with what the UK bans from e-liquid and how the manufacturing and testing process works. The Four Vape Juice Ingredients Propylene Glycol (PG) The throat hit you feel when you vape comes mostly from PG. It's a thin, colourless liquid that also carries flavour molecules well. You'll already know PG without realising it because the same ingredient goes into asthma inhalers, food products and stage fog machines. In e-liquid, PG usually makes up 30% to 50% of the total volume. Most nic salt e-liquids run a 50/50 PG/VG split because pod kits and MTL tanks need thinner liquid to wick properly. Higher PG ratios give a stronger throat sensation with less visible vapour. UK regulations require all PG in e-liquid to be pharmaceutical grade. Vegetable Glycerin (VG) If you've ever seen big clouds from a vape, that's VG doing the work. It's a thick liquid made from vegetable oils with a slightly sweet taste, and the more of it in your e-liquid, the thicker the vapour gets. Sub-ohm vapers go for 70/30 VG/PG shortfill e-liquids because the higher VG content gives bigger clouds and a softer throat hit. Outside of vaping, VG turns up in toothpaste, cough medicine and food production. A 90 day inhalation study found only limited biological effects with no signs of toxicity. VG/PG Ratio Throat Hit Vapour Best For 50/50 Strong Light Pod kits, MTL tanks 60/40 Medium Medium Most kits 70/30 Smooth Thick Sub-ohm tanks 80/20+ Very smooth Heavy RDAs, cloud setups The VG vs PG guide on our blog covers ratios in more detail and how to match them to your kit. Nicotine UK law caps nicotine in e-liquid at 20mg/ml, and it must be pharmaceutical grade, the same quality that goes into NHS patches and gum. Not all vape juice contains nicotine though. 0mg options exist for vapers who've stepped down or just want the flavour. Freebase nicotine and nicotine salts are the two types you'll come across. Freebase hits harder at the back of the throat and is common in shortfills at 3mg to 6mg. Nic salts feel smoother at higher strengths like 10mg and 20mg, and most nic salt e-liquids use them. The nic salt strengths guide on our blog covers which strength works for different vaping habits. Worth knowing: nicotine on its own is not a carcinogen. The harm from cigarettes comes from burning tobacco, which produces tar, carbon monoxide and thousands of other chemicals that don't exist in e-liquid. Flavourings Every flavouring used in UK e-liquid has to be food grade, and the manufacturer has to submit a full ingredient list plus emissions testing data to the MHRA before selling it. That approval process takes six months from start to finish. Emissions testing is the important bit. It heats the e-liquid to vaping temperature and analyses what compounds come off in the vapour. Some flavourings that are perfectly safe to eat behave differently when inhaled, so the heated output gets checked separately. Diacetyl and acetyl propionyl, both linked to respiratory issues in industrial settings, have been banned from UK e-liquids since 2016 under TPD rules. How Is Vape Juice Made in the UK? Everything starts in an ISO 7 clean room. The PG and VG going into the mix must be pharmaceutical grade, and raw materials get tested for purity before anyone touches them. Mixing, bottling and quality checks all happen in controlled environments. Once a batch is mixed, it goes through emissions testing. The liquid gets heated to vaping temperature and the resulting vapour is analysed for harmful compounds. All of that data, along with the full ingredient breakdown and toxicological reports, gets submitted to the MHRA at least six months before the product can go on sale. After approval, the e-liquid goes onto the MHRA's public database and the manufacturer has to track any adverse events reported by users. UK e-liquid costs more than unregulated imports for exactly this reason, every bottle has six months of testing behind it. Vape Ingredients Banned in the UK UK regulations specifically ban several ingredients from e-liquids: Diacetyl banned since 2016 under TPD rules. This is the chemical linked to "popcorn lung" in industrial workers exposed to extremely high concentrations. It has not been permitted in UK e-liquid for nearly a decade. Acetyl propionyl banned alongside diacetyl due to similar respiratory concerns when inhaled at high levels. Caffeine and taurine stimulant additives are not allowed in UK e-liquid. Colouring agents artificial colours have no place in vape juice and are banned. Vitamin E acetate this was linked to lung injuries in the US in 2019. Those cases involved illegal THC cartridges, not regulated UK e-liquid. It has never been permitted in TPD compliant products. Is Diacetyl in Vape Juice? No. Diacetyl has been banned from UK e-liquid since 2016 when the TPD regulations came into force. The "popcorn lung" story originally came from workers in a US popcorn factory who breathed in huge amounts of heated diacetyl every day for years. The concentrations involved were nowhere near what was ever found in pre-regulation e-liquids, even back when diacetyl was still legal. Any TPD compliant e-liquid from a UK retailer has been through emissions testing that specifically checks for diacetyl. It's not in the product. Is Acetyl Propionyl Banned in UK E-Liquids? Yes. Acetyl propionyl was banned at the same time as diacetyl under the TPD regulations in 2016. All UK e-liquids must pass emissions testing that checks for both compounds. Any product containing either one would fail MHRA approval and could not legally be sold. UK E-Liquid Regulations: TPD and MHRA The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) enforce the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) across the UK. Every e-liquid sold legally has to meet these rules: Regulation Requirement Nicotine limit 20mg/ml maximum Bottle size 10ml maximum for nicotine-containing liquid Emissions testing Required before sale, heated vapour analysed MHRA notification 6 months before launch, full ingredient and safety data Labelling Health warnings covering 30% of packaging, full ingredient list Child safety Childproof, tamper-evident caps on all nicotine products Banned substances Diacetyl, acetyl propionyl, caffeine, taurine, colouring agents How to Check if Your E-Liquid Is TPD Compliant The packaging tells you everything. A legally compliant UK e-liquid will have: MHRA registration number Full ingredient list printed on the label or leaflet Health warning covering 30% of the pack Childproof cap UK manufacturer or importer address Batch number Anything missing from that list is a red flag. Stick to authorised UK retailers who only stock MHRA notified products. 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