What are Nicotine Salts?

Nicotine is a common ingredient in vapor e-liquids, and salt-based nicotine is the latest development to take the vaping industry by storm. Over the last year, salt nicotine or more simply “nic salts,” have become increasingly popular. This is because some vapers, especially ones who are newer to vaping, have moved away from high-powered advanced personal vaporizers that use traditionally extracted nicotine at lower concentrations. Instead, they’ve opted for low-power, high-nicotine options such as cigalikes and pod mods that use nic salts.

The main advantage of salt-based nicotine over conventional freebase nicotine is that it delivers a smoother draw, which allows a vaper to consume much higher levels of nicotine without experiencing the harsh throat hit common with traditional nicotine at such high concentrations. This higher nicotine content allows on-the-go vapers to pack a stronger punch into a compact device. This gives them the freedom of all-day vaping in a much smaller device.

Nicotine Salts Explained

Simply put, nicotine salts exist naturally in tobacco leaves. With nic salts, however, an ingredient called benzoic acid is added.The chemical reaction between the nicotine base and the benzoic acid makes nicotine salts much easier to vape at lower temperatures, higher strengths and allows it to be more efficiently absorbed into the body. All of that amounts to basically a revolution in how nicotine can be consumed.

Nicotine Salts are Not for Every Device

Salt-based nicotine can vary in potency, which means you have to be more careful when using it than traditionally-extracted freebase nicotine. Because ultra-high nicotine liquids have become preferred for cigalike and other pod-based systems, brands have started incorporating it into their mixes.

We'll note here that nic salts are intended only for use in low-powered, beginner-level devices. Never, we repeat, never, use a nic salt in a conventional adjustable-power device (vape mod) as it could quickly lead to nicotine overdose, with symptoms ranging from elevated heart rate and blood pressure to difficulty breathing, excessive perspiration, and extreme nausea—even hospitalization in extreme cases.

Types of Nicotine Salts

When it comes to closed-system devices (pod mods and cigalikes that come with pre-filled, non-refillable pods), you're often limited to just a handful of flavors and nicotine strengths offered by your device's manufacturer. So, it would be wise if you're thinking about a closed-system setup to review the available flavors before purchase and make sure what's available works for you.

With open system (refillable) pods, your choice of flavors and nicotine levels open up. Breazy’s salt e-liquid section offers hundreds of flavors ranging from 12 mg nic strength all the way up to 50 mg.

Check out Breazy’s vast library of vaping resources here.