Vaping has picked up its own language over the years and half of it makes no sense unless someone explains it. We get messages on live chat every day from customers who've just bought their first kit and don't know what half the terms mean. So we wrote this vape terms glossary. Bookmark it. You'll probably need it more than once.
Our beginner's guide to vaping covers the bigger picture if you're just getting started.
A-D
Airflow - The little vent on your kit that controls how tight or loose the draw feels. Closing it down mimics a cigarette pull. Opening it up gives you more vapour.
Bar salts - You'll see this term everywhere now. These are nic salt e-liquids designed to taste like the old disposable flavours. Same recipes, bottled for refillable kits.
Coil - The bit that actually heats your e-liquid. It's a small metal element wrapped in cotton, and it wears out. Most people change theirs every week or two. Our coils guide goes deeper on this.
Disposable vape - Single-use vape. Pre-charged, pre-filled, throw it away when it's done. Banned in the UK from June 2025.
Draw-activated - Means the vape fires when you inhale. No button. Most pod kits work this way and it's what former disposable users are used to.
DTL (Direct-to-Lung) - Inhaling vapour straight into your lungs rather than holding it in your mouth first. Think deep breath, not cigarette drag. Big clouds, low nicotine. Sub-ohm territory.
E-M
E-cigarette / e-cig - What people called vapes before anyone said "vape." Still shows up in government documents and NHS leaflets but actual vapers almost never use it.
E-liquid - The liquid you put in your vape. PG, VG, flavouring, and usually nicotine. Some people call it vape juice, some call it juice, some still say "the liquid." All the same thing. Browse our e-liquids collection.
Freebase nicotine - This was the only type of nicotine in e-liquids for years. It gets harsh above about 6mg, so when nic salts came along and solved that problem, freebase got pushed mainly into shortfills for sub-ohm vaping.
If some of the nicotine and e-liquid terms are blurring together, that's normal. The short version: nic salts go in pod kits at high strengths. Freebase goes in sub-ohm kits at low strengths.
mAh - Milliamp hours. It's the battery capacity number. A 1000mAh kit will last most people a day. 1500mAh will comfortably get through a heavy day. The higher the number, the longer between charges.
MTL (Mouth-to-Lung) - You draw vapour into your mouth, pause, then inhale into your lungs. It's how you smoked a cigarette, and it's why this style works so well for people switching. Pairs with nic salts at 10-20mg.
N-P
Nic salts - A form of nicotine that stays smooth even at 20mg. That's the big deal. Before nic salts, high-strength e-liquid was too harsh to use comfortably. Now it's the standard for pod kits. Browse nic salts.
Nic shot - Small bottle of concentrated nicotine. You pour it into a shortfill bottle to add nicotine. One nic shot in a 100ml shortfill gives you roughly 3mg.
Ohm - Electrical resistance of a coil. Under 1.0 ohm runs hot and produces lots of vapour. Above 1.0 runs cooler and suits the MTL style. You don't need to understand the physics, just know that lower ohm = more vapour.
PG (Propylene Glycol) - One of the two base ingredients in e-liquid. Thin consistency, carries flavour well, gives you throat hit. Higher PG content suits pod kits.
Pod kit - Compact vape with a clickable pod that holds your e-liquid. This is what most people start with now, especially anyone coming off disposables. See our pod kits.
Prefilled - A prefilled pod kit uses pods that already have e-liquid in them. When a pod runs out, you chuck it and click in a new one. No bottles, no filling.
Priming - Dripping e-liquid onto a new coil before you use it. If you skip this step, you'll burn the cotton and taste it immediately. Takes about 30 seconds and saves you a coil. Our priming guide walks you through it.
Puff count - The number printed on prefilled pods and old disposables. "600 puffs" means roughly the equivalent of 20 cigarettes. Always approximate though, it depends entirely on how you vape.
R-T
RDL (Restricted Direct-to-Lung) - Sits between MTL and DTL. A bit more vapour than a cigarette-style draw but nothing like a full sub-ohm cloud. Works with 3-10mg nicotine and it's becoming the most popular style with newer pod kits.
Refillable - A refillable vape kit you fill yourself from a bottle. More choice, cheaper over time, slightly more hands-on than prefilled.
Shortfill - 100ml bottle of e-liquid sold with no nicotine. There's space left in the bottle to add a nic shot. Mainly for sub-ohm vapers who want big bottles at low nicotine.
Sub-ohm - Any vaping done with a coil under 1.0 ohm resistance. Higher power, more vapour, more flavour. Needs thick, high-VG liquid at low nicotine. It's the hobbyist end of vaping. See sub-ohm kits.
Throat hit - That kick at the back of your throat when you inhale. Higher nicotine, more PG, and menthol all increase it. If you're an ex-smoker, you probably want a decent amount of it.
TPD - Tobacco Products Directive. EU regulation that the UK still follows. Caps nicotine at 20mg/ml, e-liquid bottles at 10ml, and tank capacity at 2ml. It's why you can't buy a 30ml bottle of nic salts.
V-W
Vape - Short for vaporiser. Oxford made it Word of the Year back in 2014. Works as both a noun and a verb, which is probably why it replaced "e-cigarette" overnight.
Vape juice - E-liquid. Same stuff, different name.
Vaper - Someone who vapes. That's it.
VG (Vegetable Glycerine) - The other base ingredient alongside PG. Thicker, produces more vapour, slightly mutes flavour. High VG liquids go in sub-ohm kits. Low VG goes in pods.
Wattage - How much power your vape sends to the coil. Higher wattage means a hotter coil, warmer vapour, and bigger clouds. Most pod kits handle this automatically. Our wattage guide covers the details.
50/50 - E-liquid mixed to equal parts PG and VG. The standard ratio for pod kits. Balanced throat hit and vapour. Browse 50/50 vape juice.
