Stepping Down Your E-Liquid Nicotine Strength: Everything You Need To know

We often refer to vaping as a journey, and that's because unlike cigarette smoking which tends to have us using one brand and one strength of cigarette over and over, e-liquids give you the option to change. Most e-liquid flavours are available in tapered strengths, meaning if you decide you want to change your nicotine intake you can simply step up of down a strength.

Of course nicotine is an addictive substance, so in most cases people tend to want to reduce their nicotine strength while vaping over time. Some people may want to stop vaping altogther, but others may simply just want to get a better handle on their cravings and reduce the amount of nicotine they consume.

In either case, there are some important things to keep in mind when stepping down your nicotine strength that will help make the transition a little smoother. Read on to find out more!  

Table of Contents

Are You Ready To Lower Your E-Liquid Nicotine Strength?

When you first start vaping after quitting smoking, you'll most likely be using vape juice that has a nicotine strength relative to the amount of cigarettes you'd previously smoked during the course of a day. 

This is so your body still gets the nicotine it's been previously used towithout suffering withdrawal symptoms from cutting out nicotine completely when deciding to leave cigarettes behind. 

The decision to lower your nicotine strength could be inspired by many things:

Perhaps you have started your vaping journey with an e-liquid strength that is a little more than you initially thought you needed.

Maybe you have been enjoying vaping but want to take advantage of tapered strengths to reduce your overall nicotine intake and curb your dependency.

Or you may have always intended for vaping to be a temporary step towards a nicotine free lifestyle and want to start moving down through your options until you can eradicate your addiction altogether.

Whatever the reason may be, if you're feeling like you're ready it never hurts to reduce your nicotine intake. But why should you consider doing this and not just stay on the same strength?

Why Should You Consider Reducing Your E-LiQuid Nicotine Strength?

There are myriad potential benefits to reducing your nicotine intake from subtle to obvious. Below we outline some of the key benefits of dropping down a strength:  

Setting Goals And Being Committed Are Key When Reducing Your Nicotine Strength

Stepping down your nicotine strength isn't as easy as just saying that you're going to do it. There are steps that you need to take to ensure you have a successful attempt at lowering your nicotine intake, as well as pitfalls to avoid which we cover in the next section. 

The simplest and often most effective strategy is to set yourself some achievabe goals to work towards, and a timeline ofwhen you want to achieve them. having a framework in place is something positive to work towards and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment as and when you reach each goal - motivating you to keep going. 

The most important thing is to make these goals realistic and achieveable, and give yourself plenty of time to conquer them, gradual change is far more likely to achieve results than rushing. 

It's important to remeber to never feel disheartened should you not achieve your goal by the deadline you've set. Remember: it's a marathon not a sprint! Even if you end up reverting to a higher nicotine strength when cravings are too intense, or switch back and forth between higher and lower until you can hit the milestone; any progress is a positive and should be used as motivation to press on.

There are lots of excellent resources out there to help you manage nicotine addiction including Stop Smoking Services and the NHS if you require extra help.

Things To Avoid When Lowering Your E-Liquid Nicotine Strength

Whilst it may seem an easy task to reduce the nicotine strength of your vape juice, there are plenty of pitfalls, to watch out for. Below we highlight a few key things you'll want to avoid if you want a successful journey:  

• Avoid Relapse -
  Any time you quit anything, there is always a risk of you slipping back into old ways. In this context that could either be returning to a higher nicotine strength e-liquid, or worse, smoking itself.
  
  There are lots of situations that can cause a relapse, from stress and anxiety to peer pressure, you can learn more about them all in our blog. While it is good to avoid relapse, you also shouldn't beat yourself up if it happens, as long as you understand why and get back on the wagon asap you are on the right track.
  
  The trick to managing these moments all depends on your own attitude and outlook. Relapse to smoking itself however is a real possibility if vaping no longer meets the cravings left by your smoking habit.
  
  Dropping to a lower nicotine strength vape juice can leave you with less satisfaction. Making sure you have the tools in place to endure the initial challenging period after switching to a lower strength will give your body time to adjust without slipping off course.
• Avoid Compensating Behaviour -
  One thing people don’t always notice when dropping down nicotine strengths is compensating behaviour. Essentially, take note of how often you reach for your device, and how long you use it for.
  
  If you notice you are getting through your e-liquid twice as fast, or holding that (your) device twice as often, you might be compensating for the fact you just dropped down a nicotine level.
  
  It’s only natural, your body is used to getting a certain amount of nicotine with each puff; if that suddenly isn’t being delivered, our brains instinctively tell us to start vaping more.
  
  You just need to have a little self-awareness and control, so you can take responsibility for these urges, and make sure you don’t end up exactly where you were before trying to reduce your strength by vaping twice as intensely.
• Avoid Stepping Down Too Far -
  While it may sound a little cliché, small steps really do lead to big changes. Suddenly going from 20mg nic salts to a 3mg freebase vape liquid is unlikely to be a successful switch.
  
  Working your way slowly down through the available strengths, from 18mg to 12mg to 6mg and so on, will give your body the best chance of adjusting to the decreasing level of nicotine it is allowed to absorb.
  
  Using this careful approach is far more likely to help you achieve your goals. And will help reduce your chance of relapse. The general rule of thumb is always try one strength lower than you currently use!
• Avoid Stepping Down Too Quickly -
  One of the most common mistakes people make when reducing their nicotine intake is stepping down the strength of their vape juice too quickly.
  
  As we mentioned above, there's no time limit and you are in control, so you don't need to rush things! Give your body chance to acclimatise to the new lower strength you have chosen. How long is determined by many factrs ranging from your previous nicotine level to your own body and willpower.
  
  Make small managaeable changes, give yourself time to adjust, and only take the next step when you are confident your body and mind are ready.
  
• Avoid Getting Rid Of Your Previous Higher Strength E-LiQuid -
  While some people may prefer to make a clean break and ditch any higher strength nicotine prodcuts once they move on to a lower option, there is an argument for not doing so - at least not right away.
  
  Cravings are tricky things to manage, and they can be intensified by external factors such as stress or anxiety. Even if you have recently transitioned to a lower strength, you may find it simply doesn't cut it right away or during moments of high-stress. 
  
  Having a bottle of your old higher strength e-liquid on-hand can be a useful tool to combat this without experiencing a prolonged relapse or worse, returning to cigarettes. It's far better to temporarily switch back to help manage a powerful craving or get through a tough day than to chance it and end up taking several steps backwards.
  
• Avoid Going 'Cold Turkey' -
  While some people have super-willpower and can manage it, for most of us going "cold turkey" and cutting nicotine out completely rather than gradually lowering it most often results in a total relapse.
  
  Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, and to completely cut it out could lead to some unpleasant withdrawal effects such as nausea, headaches, anxiety, irritability and more.
  
  Don't take that chance, and instead take advantage of the fact e-liquids allow you to enjoy the same flavour in a range of nicotine strengths, giving you the ability to taper down your intake in a manageable way that delivers lasting positive change.
  

How Long Until My Lower E-Liquid Nicotine Strength Feels Normal?

Everybody is different so there is no preset answer to this question, your biology, lifestyle, and environment will all have a massive impact on how effective any form of cessation will be.

Typically though, you should expect your new e-liquidstrength to feel more ‘normal’ after one to two weeks of regular use – just keep an eye on any compensating vaping habits!

While stepping down your e-liquid's nicotine strength should not cause effects as severe as when going cold turkey, understanding the challenges this kind of decision can present can help you manage your behaviour as you work your way down from the higher strengths.

Below is a recognised timeline of nicotine addiction and withdrawal from the NHS – while intended for those quitting smoking, mild forms of these effects may be felt as you step down e-liquid strengths as a vaper, particularly if you choose to jump from high to low very quickly:

Buy Low Nicotine & 0mg Nicotine-Free Vape Juice From LiQuid

Just because you want to lower your nicotine intake doesn't necessarily mean you wnat to stop vaping altogether - and that's absolutely fine! One of the best things about vpaing is that the vast majority of e-liquid flavours are available in a 0mg nicotine-free variant.

Here at LiQuid, we aim to cater to everyone's personal nicotine needs which is why we offer all of our ranges of vape juices in tapered nicotine strengths, starting as low as 3mg in our original £1 freebase nicotine range to 20mg in our Nicotine Salt vape juice range Bar Salts or our incredible range of guest brands such as ElfLiq or SKE Crystal vape juice. Where most disposable vapes are only available in 20mg, we offer users the same flavours but in tapered strengths including both 10mg and 5mg. 

Alongside these we also offer an extensive range of zero mg/nicotine free vape juice for those who have achieved, or are working towards the ultimate end goal of becoming nicotine free but still want to continue vaping to enjoy the flavour. 

You can get 0mg vape juices in 10ml bottles in both our 50/50 Original £1 range as well as our High VG (70/30) range if you're looking for big flavour and bigger clouds!  

Our 0mg 50ml shortfills are 70VG/30PG and come in 8 fantastic flavours. Our 50-50 100ml Shortfills feature flavours from our Bar Salts range but without the nicotine! Learn more about different types of e-liquid here!

Explore the ranges below, or check out our top 10 for some 0mg inspiration!

Shop 50ml Shortfill High VG E-Liquid

Shop 10ml Nicotine Free E-Liquid

Shop 100ml 50/50 Shortfill E-Liquid

Buy A Suitable Device For Low Nicotine Vape Juice From LiQuid

If you're looking to use a low strength nicotine vape juice, you may need to consider upgrading your current vape kit set up for a device more suited to using low strength e-liquid. But don't look at this as an extra expense, look at it as a treat to yourself for achieving your goals of stepping down your nicotine strength!

This may also help you become successful in your quest to step down your strength, as you'll be buying a new vape kit and will want to utilise it properly, so it could be a subliminal motivational tool!

If you want to experiment with lower strength or nicotine-free High VG vape juices then sub-ohm mod vape kits or other advanced vape devices are the way to go. If you're unsure of what these are, check out our handy guide that tells you everything you need to know about vape kits! 

If you are using a low strength nic salt, 50-50 freebase, or Bar Salt Shortfill e-liquid, any refillable pod kit or similar beginner / intermediate steup will serve you well. If you are unure about the differences between these types of vape juice we have two guides all about e-liquid and nic salts to explore.
 
We have a great range of vape kits available here at LiQuid to suit every stage of your journey, check out our range and treat yourself to an upgrade today! 

Written By Oliver Norman

Our resident vaping expert with 9 years of industry experience. Ollie has worked in a massive range of roles over the years: from bottling on the shop floor to mixing e-liquid in the cleanroom, heading up Tech Ops and flavour development in the lab and beyond. Ollie has been with LiQuid for nearly a decade and now heads up our content marketing team making sure our customers get the best quality information to make informed choices on their vaping journeys.

He is a one-stop-shop of hands-on vaping knowledge from scientific technical info to current vaping trends, vape juice to vape kits and all points in-between - he's been on quite the vaping journey and is keen to share his experience with you, from one vaper to another!