Vape Blog

ANSWERING THE MYTH BEHIND MAX VG

I think many us know someone who is or you yourself an, "I only vape Max VG, Bro" type of vaper. All with good intentions as you or they may simply be looking for the largest cloud production out of you vape.

By now you've noticed that many e-liquids are labeled with descriptions such as 50/50 PG/VG or 40/60 PG/VG and so on according to the propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) proportions included in the juice. However, there are many e-liquids that are simply labeled "Max VG" and many people take this to mean 100% VG. But is it really?  Likely not, and it's a good chance the last bottle of your favorite Max VG cloud monster juice is really just a 70VG blend. Sorry. Hey, it's all good, just keep enjoying that tasty vape!

SO, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 100% VG VS MAX VG?

 To make things simple: 100% VG indicates that the juice is made purely out of vegetable glycerin and/or distilled water with flavoring and nicotine (optional). Another way that you could view this is: 100% VG means that the juice (in theory) should be “PG free." PG is by far the most common ingredient other than VG in e-liquid.

"Max VG" is a term used by the manufacturer to describe their optimal PG/VG ratio or in most cases simply to hide the recipe details in regards to the PG/VG ratio used. Although it could mean 100% VG, it's very unlikely that it actually is as juices truly containing 100% VG tend to advertise it as just that. Max VG is a rather ambiguous definition because the max VG term could potentially mean 70% VG, 80% VG, 90% VG or even 100% VG, but it's completely up to the vendor to make this determination. So next time before you head to your local vape shop with the intention of only buying "Max VG" juice, understand that you may instead want to be open to anything with a VG content over 70%. After all, it's a good chance that's what you've been vaping all along. 

WHY DOES LABELING MATTER? 

Even though PG is extremely common, being found in nearly everything from Kool Aid to blueberry muffins, some people are allergic to it when vaping. It's important for the consumer, particularly those who have PG allergies, to understand that "Max VG" doesn't mean 100% VG. It simply means that the manufacturer created a higher level VG blended juice mostly over 70%. 

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PG AND VG? 

Vegetable glycerin is a thick, sweet-tasting liquid. It gives your eliquid a very light and sweet flavor, while making huge amounts of vapor. It also gives the user an incredibly smooth throat hit. Vegetable glycerin is manufactured from, you guessed it, vegetables. Therefore it is considered completely natural and safe. VG is also used as a sweetener and in many products.

Even though VG gives off a sweet flavor, it does not contain sugar, and is metabolized by the body differently than sugar.

Propylene glycol, on the other hand, is very thin and tasteless unlike it sweeter counterpart in VG. PG is known to produce a stronger throat hit, and that is why some people favor it in their e-cigs, especially when initially coming off of traditional cigarettes.

PG is recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is why it can be found in a variety of healthcare products from skin lotions to body products and as a preservative in foods.  

SO....? 

Most e-liquids companies mix PG and VG together because PG is a better flavor carrier than VG although VG provides a smoother vape. More PG = stronger throat hit; more VG = larger vapor production and softer flavor.  

If you have any more questions you can email us at: info@vaporvilla.com and we will be happy to help.

Proper Etiquette When Using an E-Cigarette or Personal Vaporizer

We have all seen them, groups of vapers who are in a crowded public place just a chuckin' away while onlookers gawk in horror, not fully understanding what exactly is coming out of their mouths. Some think it's smoke, others know it's vapor but still clutch their children close as if cancer will immediately seize them should they inhale any secondhand vapor. 

There are so many people in the world who have yet to even lay eyes on a vape device or even if they have, may not fully understand it. Even though using a vaping device isn't smoking, some people who are ill informed may look at it the same way or possibly even worse. We still have our work cut out for us when it comes to raising awareness and until the rest of the world fully understands what the vapor is, we should probably be respectful and open minded. We can't blanket people around us in a thick cloud of dense fog and expect them to simply be ok with it, especially if they don't even know what they are being blanketed in.

Here are some things that we can do to help the vape movement and improve the general public feeling about vapers:

1. Ask permission

When you're in a restaurant, bar, or any place where smoking is not permitted, it's best to ask if you can vape. In some instances asking the owner or manager of the establishment might pique their curiosity. Giving you the opportunity to educate them on all the great things vaping has to offer instead of them being exposed to only the negative, hear-say information that's available on the web. If they tell you that you cannot vape in the establishment be polite. Don't give them any gruff about their decision as you want them to remember you being, "the respectable guy with the vape" and not some jerk who refused to stop blowing clouds.

2. Answer basic questions

People are usually curious about e-cigarettes. If you are approached by someone who begins to ask questions you should be polite and educate them. If someone approaches you in a negative way (usually out of misunderstanding) be as polite as possible and correct whatever misconceptions that they might have. Unless you are in a wide open area or outdoors such as a park where the clouds will dissipate quickly, it may be a good idea to oblige when someone asks you to stop vaping while in a relatively closed area. You don't need to be a pushover, just polite. 

You never know, by being polite and answering questions you might clear up some misconceptions, spark an interest with someone, or ultimately save someone's life.

3. Be respectful

There is plenty of research that shows exhaled vapor as being completely harmless but that doesn't mean we should go around blowing clouds in people's faces. Particularly if a person has kids around it might be a good idea to blow your vapor in the opposite direction to avoid any issue. By being respectful with your vaping you are more likely to win hearts and make people curious rather than push them away and making the angry. 

4. It's not illegal, but..

While vaping in certain areas might not be illegal, it doesn't mean that you always should. Being rude isn't illegal but most would agree they'd rather someone not be rude. Bottom line: just because something isn't illegal doesn't mean we need to inconsiderately expose it to others. If we don't respect others we may find that the vape industry will have more enemies than friends. Not good!

5. What about my "right" to vape?

Currently, there aren't any countries that have laws on the books giving a person the right to vape. It's sort of like driving, you can get a driver's license but if you drive dangerously your license will get suspended or revoked. With vaping, if we aren't respectful, our privilege will get revoked. Vaping is pretty well tolerated in most places but if we act without class we'll only be assisting the naysayers fight against us. 

All in all this isn't meant to serve as a guide to be being the high and mighty vaper. Instead just boiling down to the fact that we should all be considerate of others through life in general, and vaping so happens to be a good time to practice that. Vaper's are still very few in numbers and each person who vapes can have a big impact on our perception received from the general public. If we all do our part we can be sure that e-cigs will be here to stay. 

Vape on!

Making the transition to E-Cigarettes can be tough. Here are some helpful tips from Vapor Villa.

In case you've been living under a rock or in a remote area of northern Siberia, e-cigarettes are the most useful smoking cessation method in existence. Even though many people have had great success, quitting smoking by switching to e-cigarettes in still a tough road for many. Some people are able to quit by vaping without trying too hard and others have to work very hard at it. If you are struggling to quit smoking even with the use of a vaping device then these tips are right up your alley. 

1. Have a backup battery or kit

Many entry level e-cig starter kits come with two of everything, for a good reason. One battery can be charged while the other is being used, or if your clearomizer or battery breaks you will have a spare. If your battery breaks or goes dead in the middle of the day it is very likely that you will pick up a cigarette instead of driving to your local vape shop for a replacement.

2. You decide your nicotine level - not anyone else

Select the nicotine level that is good for YOU. Don't make your choice based on the nicotine strength that "suits most people." E-Liquid manufacturers produce several different nicotine strengths so that the user has a lot of control over their nicotine intake. Nicotine choices range from no nicotine (0mg/ml) all the way to 24mg/ml, 36mg/ml or even, in extreme cases, 42mg/ml. There are some very important things to keep in mind when choosing  nicotine strength. One being that nicotine isn’t absorbed by the body in the same way or at the same rate as it is when smoking. It takes around 30 minutes of vaping 18mg e-liquid to get the same amount of nicotine in your bloodstream as you could by smoking a cigarette in five minutes. Some new e-cig users have claimed that 18mg is sufficient to stop the cravings. Many people need no less than 24mg e-juice. 

Another thing to consider is once you are able to make the initial transition away from regular cigarettes, it’s incredibly easy to start vaping e-juice with a lower nicotine level. Many vapers who begin with 24mg e-liquid will find that they are able to reduce their nicotine level as the upgrade their e-cig device to a more powerful option.

3. Hide your cigarettes (or throw them out)

It's going to be very hard to toss out your pack of smokes after buying your first vape setup, in fact you might not even want to. If throwing them away makes you nervous, then don't. Quitting very hard all by itself without the added of stress of feeling like you are locked in and there's no turning back. On the flip side, you don't necessarily want to give yourself super easy access to your cigarettes either. Smoking is considered a habit for a reason and your subconscious will be telling you that you need to smoke. The idea is to make your cigarettes accessible, just not convenient. Hide them in the trunk of your car, in the garage, in your shed, or anywhere that's not in your pocket or within arms reach. When it comes time to decide to use your e-cig or getting up and fetching your regular e-cigarettes you will be likely to make the right choice.

4. Try many different e-liquid falvors

As your taste buds adjust to not inhaling dangerous smoke, your sense of smell and taste will improve. The change might not come to you right away but over time you will begin to notice certain foods taste differently or that you can smell things that you couldn't before.

Finding good e-juice flavors is key to sticking to vaping. Tobacco flavors are usually the go-to when first switching, and for many people it works very well. In other cases people want to eliminate everything tobacco related and dive right into fruit flavors or dessert flavors. Be advised that tobacco flavors generally taste like leaf tobacco and not burning tobacco. Some e-juice flavors can get really close, but it's definitely not the same. Finding a good flavor is done through trial and error. E-Liquid that you enjoy when you first start vaping may not be enjoyable weeks or months later after your sense of smell and taste return to normal. Go to your local vape shop and make good use of their tasting bar. Remember that some flavors that might think would not taste good can be the ones that you absolutely love.

5. Get educated about vaping

It really helps to understand why vaping is a much better choice than smoking. It is very likely that friend, family, coworkers, and others will try to tell you that e-cigarettes are just as bad as smoking. If I had nickel for every time someone said to me, "you know, they did a study that says e-cigs are waayyy worse than regular cigarettes", I would be rich. Bottom line, e-cigs are not worse than cigarettes and many scientists say that second hand vapor is not harmful at all. Vaping may not be risk-free, but it is certainly much safer than smoking. Don't just take our word for it. Do your own research so that you can successfully rebut someone that says e-cigarettes are harmful.