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How Much Nicotine is in a NicShot?

What is a Nicotine Shot?

Nic shots are also called nicotine boosters and are often sold in 10ml bottles. PG and VG are included to make a flavourless substance. This mixture can be put in nicotine-free e-liquids.

There are several different nicotine strengths you can get including 3mg, 6mg, 9mg, 15mg, and 18mg.

What about aShortfill?

A shortfillis an e-liquid bottle that can hold between 20ml and 100ml. The e-liquid is nicotine-free. These bottles also have added space for nic shots.

How Much Nicotine Should I Use?

This is entirely up to you and what you are used to. Everyone is different and will have slightly different preferences. This will largely depend on how regularly you smoked.

A rough guide is:

0mg/ml – for people who have not smoked or what to cut out nicotine.

3mg/ml – for light smokers or occasional smokers who want to cut down on nicotine.

6mg/ml  – for moderate smokers who want to reduce their nicotine gradually.

12mg/ml+ – for heavy smokers who want to keep their nicotine levels stable.

Nic Shots

The amount and strength of nicotine e-liquids is restricted in the UK. You’ll find that most bottle will be 10ml with a strength of 18mg. Luckily, most people pick one of 3mg, 6mg, or 12mg nicotine level which makes calculating amounts easy.

 

What do Nicotine Levels Mean?

The level of nicotine in an e-liquid is expressed in mg. People are sometimes a little confused because mg refers to the amount in each ml not the total amount included in the bottle.

The bigger the bottle, the more liquid you have, but the concentration of nicotine does not change. On occasion, nicotine strength will be labelled as a percentage.

What is 3mg Nicotine?

As discussed above, this indicates the strength of the liquid. 3mg refers to 3mg of nicotine per ml of liquid, regardless of how much liquid you have. This means the concentration does not change.

For example, a 10ml bottle will have 10mls of e-liquid. In ever ml there is 3mg of nicotine. In other words, there is 30mg of nicotine in the 10ml bottle.

This is the same for any other value of nicotine. If it is 6mg nicotine, every ml of e-liquid will contain 6mg of nicotine.

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Pod Systems: A Different Kind of Vaping Experience

When you first get into vaping, choosing a device that’s right for you can be a bit of a task. With so many options, like cigalikes, vape pens, tube mods and box mods, the choice can quickly become overwhelming.

In recent years, pod systems – also referred to as pod vapes, vape pods, mini vapes or pod mods – have become the new player on the market, and their popularity is steadily increasing. But what exactly are they, what’s so great about them, and why could you be better off going for a pod system rather than another vaping kit?

What are pod systems?

As the name suggests, pod systems are made with pods of e-liquids, which either come as “closed” pre-filled disposables or can be refilled with other flavours that are more to your liking, depending on the device you buy. When you have used up the liquid, you can simply pop it out of the battery section and replace it with a new one. As easy as that!

So basically, pods work just like an atomizer or tank in other devices, holding and vaporizing e-liquid. Their (usually) smaller battery capacity (around 300mAh) and limited space (1-2ml) make them very convenient to carry around with you, but can also be an inconvenience if you use them very frequently, in which case you might need to recharge them during the day and have some replacement flavours at hand.

More and more pod systems are being developed with a bigger battery though. So if you opt for one of those, there shouldn’t be any issues if that kind of thing bothers you.

Giving up cigarettes

Pod kits can also be a great introduction to vaping if you are making the switch from smoking tobacco. Unlike many other devices, they are suitable for the mouth-to-lung inhale style, which is what most smokers use, and the majority are switched on using your breath rather than any buttons, making the process more authentic and easier to get used to.

An unobtrusive alternative

Pod systems are not only compact, but also discreet – since they do not produce massive amounts of vapour, they are a little nicer to use in public but might not entirely agree with you if you are more of a cloud chaser. If you have purchased an open pod system and would like to refill it, you should keep it mind that pod kits are not working well with liquids that are high in VG – it’s best to go for higher-PG-blends that have more nicotine to make up for the smaller amount of vapour.

Which leads us to another advantage of pod systems: they are compatible with nicotine salts, which provide you with a higher nicotine content and a smooth throat hit without making any sacrifices when it comes to the flavour. E-juices with nicotine salts have a nicotine content of up to 59mg/ml, compared to ordinary e-liquids, which are usually around 12mg/ml.

This does not make the former harsher to vape, however – if combined with an acid, the overall PH of the nic salt liquid is lowered and results in this smoother experience. Studies show that nicotine salts are the most efficient in delivering nicotine to your body, being absorbed much faster than the “freebase” nicotine found in other e-liquids and leaving you satisfied a little longer.

This makes the pod system stand out: as a low-powered and portable device, it is ideal for use with nic salts, and its size might not matter too much if you’re craving a vape less frequently.

Vaping on a budget

Another factor that makes pod kits quite popular especially with starters is the price point. Being cheaper than most mods – many are around the price range of vape pens – makes them pretty affordable. If you haven’t tried vaping before and want to see if it’s for you, it’s an ideal start. Considering that pod kits are all-in-one devices, you won’t need to clean them or change any coils, which is necessary for other vaping kits like – for example – box mods, saving you the hassle. But even if you are a vape veteran, their compactness, convenience and stronger nicotine hit are great selling points.

And so…

So, are pod systems for you? If you are not too bothered by a potentially lower battery capacity, some limitation in your e-liquid choice and a smaller cloud surrounding you, their compactness, discretion, affordability and convenience might very well draw you in and make them a good option especially for vaping newbies.

We’re definitely convinced by the greatness of these ultra compact devices – and that’s why here at iBreathe, we’ll be launching our own brand-new, easy-to-use pod system very soon. Keep an eye on our website to keep up to date, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

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How can we make the e-cigarette industry more sustainable?

We ask ourselves this a lot at iBreathe. Where we can, we act. But the fact remains: the e-cigarette industry isn’t sustainable enough. One of the biggest challenges we face is plastic – pods, e-liquid bottles and delivery packaging. It doesn’t belong in landfill; our planet deserves better than that. So, here’s what we’re doing about it and what more we think we can do. We’d love to hear your thoughts, too.

Helping you dispose of used pods

For starters, our new nicotine replacement pod, Xero, launches in January 2021. We’ll help you figure out how many pods you need based on your nicotine intake, and we’ll deliver them on set dates so that you never run out. We want to make it easier for you to stop smoking, and we hope this will do that. But to make sure we provide you with the best product, the pods are made from durable plastic, and each one lasts for 350 puffs before it should be thrown away. We realised this wasn’t sustainable. We made them. Therefore, we have a role to play to make sure they don’t end up in landfill. That’s why, when Xero launches, we’ll give you the option to return your used pods to us at no extra cost to you. Then, we’ll recycle them for you. In the long-term, we’d love to do something similar to this with our e-liquids.

Making our deliveries more eco-friendly

To make our products, we need to order things in. Often, these deliveries travel long distances wrapped in lots of plastic and cardboard packaging – not good. We can’t change these basic facts. But we can, and do, order more stuff in one go whenever we can. For example, one bigger delivery a month, instead of five smaller ones, uses less packaging and less fuel (because it takes fewer trips). Plus, we recycle all the cardboard they come in, and all the plastic that’s recyclable. Is there more that we can do here? Tell us.

E-liquid bottles

As it is, our e-liquids come in plastic bottles. This is how it’s done across the e-cigarette industry. But there’s an issue – plastic bottles take around 450 years to decompose! Safe to say, a 10ml bottle of e-liquid doesn’t need to last that long (more like a day or two). In other words, plastic is a bit too effective as packaging. So, we’re coming up with ways to tackle this:

  1. Deposit bins

We’re looking at putting deposit bins outside shops that sell iBreathe products, including petrol stations. Then, when you drop by, you can drop your empty e-liquid bottles into the iBreathe bin, and we’ll recycle them for you. Think of a battery recycle bin, but for e-liquid bottles. Would this be helpful to you? Whether it’s yes or no, we want to know.

  1. Sustainable packaging

As well as recycling the used bottles, we’ve been brainstorming ideas to make them from something that’s better for the planet. We could make them from recycled plastics. Or, we could use biodegradable materials, such as plants – these break down naturally, so they never need to be recycled or put into landfill. Or maybe we could have a mixture of both, like Innocent drinks do with their bottles.

Thoughts? Share them with us.

The e-cigarette industry – our industry – creates tonnes of plastic, and we’re not going to quietly sweep it all under the rug. At iBreathe, we’re doing our best, but we want to do more. Whether you agree or disagree with our ideas, or have something to add, please share your thoughts in the comments below, or get in touch with us.

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Menthol Ban from 20/05/2020

The Reason Menthol Cigarettes are Being Banned in the UK

As of Wednesday 20th of May 2020, menthol cigarettes, rolling tobacco, and skinny cigarettes will no longer be available for purchase in UK shops as part of the new EU Tobacco Product Directive. The proposition to ban menthol-based products has been public knowledge since May 2016, but only now will this become a government-enforced regulation.

Why is There a Focus on These Specific Products?

You may be wondering why exactly this ban is coming into place and why these aforementioned products are coming under fire. The decision to ban the sale of these products is part of an initiative to discourage young people from smoking. It’s thought that by stopping young people having access to cigarettes with a ‘characterising’ flavour, smoking, in general, will see a decline.

Research has indicated that menthol in cigarettes increases the likelihood of children and young adults to try smoking and develop a dependency further down the line. By getting rid of menthol flavouring in cigarettes, the government aim to reduce the amount of young people taking up cigarettes and make it easier for smokers to quit.

Are Menthol Cigarettes More Harmful?

The short answer is no. Menthol cigarettes are not any more harmful than non-flavoured cigarettes but that isn’t the point. Flavours like menthol mask the harsh taste of a regular cigarette and make them more appealing for non-smokers and children in particular.

Equally, there is no evidence to support the idea that menthol cigarettes are any less harmful for you than non-flavoured cigarettes. There is, however, research to support the idea that menthol cigarettes are more addictive and smoked by a younger demographic, further supporting the government’s decision to enforce this new ban.

“Like other cigarettes, menthol cigarettes harm nearly every organ in the body. They cause many diseases, including cancer and heart disease.” – SmokeFree

What Does This Mean for me?

The menthol ban may be the perfect opportunity for smokers to switch to vaping. For smokers who regularly opted for flavoured cigarettes, e-liquids offer a readily available and less harmful alternative to smoking. iBreathe have a large range of flavours, including a premium menthol range and 20mg nic salts range. The ban will not affect vaping products so what better time to make the change?

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Why the Lockdown is the Best Time to Quit Smoking

NOW IS THE TIME!

Covid-19 is completely new and never seen before. These are difficult and uncertain times often being separated from loved ones!

Negatives habits and delaying things are very easy to do. Stopping smoking is a prime example.

Using the Lockdown is perfect. 

Here’s a list of reasons to stop smoking!

Harder to Get Hold of Cigarettes

Practicality is a big factor as to why now is the ideal time to stop smoking. Lockdown is affecting most areas of day to day life, including grocery shopping. Accessing cigarettes is far from impossible but it’s certainly made more difficult and less convenient during these times. By giving up smoking right now, you’ll be giving yourself one less thing to worry about when it comes to getting in your weekly shop.

There are Fewer Temptations During Lockdown

Being isolated from your friends, colleagues, and family members outside your household is not an ideal situation by any stretch. However, the reduced contact with other people may offer a temporary respite in terms of temptations to smoke.

Being stuck in the house might mean that you no longer have the pressure to join the smokers during your lunch break and gives you one less obstacle when it comes to quitting. Of course, there are lots of other things that will make giving up smoking challenging at times, but reduced temptations during lockdown is a silver lining you shouldn’t take for granted.

Smoking Causes Respiratory Issues

Smokers don’t need reminding of the health risks that come attached with smoking but the current worldwide health emergency may serve as an unfortunate, yet timely reminder. The respiratory issues associated with COVID-19 have been well documented and the people most at risk are those with underlying health issues. Giving up smoking now may not directly affect you during this pandemic but it may save your life in the future.

E-Cigarettes are Easily Accessible

Going back to convenience and accessibility, E-Cigarettes, a less harmful alternative to smoking, can be easily ordered online during lockdown. Vaping is a great way to help quit smoking and transitioning is straightforward.

iBreathe deliver a large range of vaping goods from 20 pack Premium E-Liquids to Pro eCigarette Atomisers and anything else you may need.

Save Money During These Difficult Times

Smokers will be all too familiar with the expense of continuing. For many, cigarettes are a luxury they could go without when finances are potentially reduced. Quitting now will save you money both in the short term and the long term but there is no need to go cold turkey.

Vaping has been shown to be a less expensive alternative to smoking for those who transition and could be worth considering at this time.

There is No Time Like the Present

Perhaps the most salient reason of all. As previously mentioned, it can be easy to make excuses, particularly when times are tough. Putting off quitting smoking until lockdown ends will only make things more difficult and there will likely be another excuse round the corner.

Instead, use the lockdown to take things head-on, take control, and begin that positive shift today. Getting started is always the most difficult step, but there is absolutely nothing from stopping you making the most of an unfortunate situation, and using it as a catalyst for a constructive change.

 

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iBreathe in UK Hand Sanitiser Production Drive

UK based e-liquid and vaping brand, iBreathe, has shifted a proportion of its manufacturing capacity to produce much needed hand sanitiser, which it has donated to local communities in a bid to protect the most vulnerable members of society.

The company, which operates from over 6000 locations across the world, has now produced 200,000 bottles of its own brand of sanitiser, which is being distributed to care homes, schools, pharmacies, the police and the elderly in the North West, where the company’s headquarters are located.

Alcohol-based hand sanitisers have been recognised by the WHO as being a key element in the fight against COVID-19. iCleanse’s 60ml bottles contain 75% Ethyl Alcohol and are REACH compliant.

iBreathe has produced its own brand of hand sanitiser to ease pressure on demand.

iBreathe Director Bilal, commented “We’ve always looked to support the communities in which we live and work and that’s even more important now than ever. After we heard about the shortages of hand sanitiser across the country, we decided to do all we could to help. We’re delighted to have been able to play our small part in keeping the most vulnerable members of society around us safe and well. The lovely messages of thanks we received from St Mary’s Middlewich Primary School gave the team a huge boost and has spurred all of us on to use our fortunate position to help even more people.”

The sanitisers may also be purchased from the iBreathe website. However, those who are most vulnerable are being contacted by the company directly to provide them free of charge.

Pupils at St Mary’s Middlewich Primary School sent a thank you message to iBreathe.

Pupils got creative designing their thank you sign

About iBreathe

iBreathe is one of the leading providers of e-cigarettes and e-liquids in the UK, offering premium vaping services at highly competitive prices. A family-run company, they pride themselves on creating products of a high quality, and offer a wide range of smoking cessation aids for heavy smokers struggling to overcome nicotine addiction, and those already in the process of swapping nicotine cigarettes for electronic cigarettes. They also cater for those who simply enjoy vaping for its own sake, and offer a variety of vape kits and vaping accessories. They are tipped to be the UK’s number one supplier of e-cigarettes and e-liquids.

 

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Menthol Ban 2020. The Implications.

The 2020 UK Menthol Ban

What will happen, and will it affect you?

The UK is about to undergo legislative changes with regards to the sale of tobacco products this year. Several types of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobaccos are set to be banned.

Here’s our take on what these new laws cover, how this may affect you and what this means for us at iBreathe.

First things first, what is the ‘Menthol Ban’?

The Menthol Ban is a new law banning cigarettes with “characterising flavour” other than tobacco. The EU Tobacco Products Directive will be outlawing flavoured cigarettes, of which menthol is the most popular, hence the popular term “menthol ban”.

What does the ban cover?

In simple terms, flavoured cigarettes will no longer be available to buy within the EU and the UK. The ban will also extend to skinny cigarettes.

Also included in the ban will be capsules, click-on, ‘click and roll’ and dual menthol cigarettes. Currently, UK legislation only allows menthol cigarettes to be sold in packs of 20. This is part of the plan to slowly phase out ‘flavoured’ cigarettes completely.

Heated tobacco products and vapes will be exempt from the ban.

Why Is the menthol ban being introduced?

The tobacco ban is part of a push reduce the number of young smokers and discourage others from starting.

It’s a commonly believed myth that menthol cigarettes may be a ‘healthier’ option, but this is not supported by evidence. On the contrary, menthol cigarettes could potentially be more harmful as the flavour helps mask the harshness of the smoke, making it easier to relax smokers’ airways.

When will it become law?

The new law will come into force on the 20th of May 2020 as part of the EU Tobacco Product Directive. You will still be able to use menthol cigarettes after the ban, but you will no longer be able to purchase them.

Will the menthol ban affect retailers?

100%. With an estimated 40% of tobacco-based sales being menthol cigarettes, it will have a massive effect.

There will be no sell through period, meaning that retailers will have to sell any remaining stock of flavoured cigarettes by the 20th of May 2020.

How will the changes affect iBreathe?

The menthol ban will not directly affect any of iBreathe’s E-Liquid products.

In fact, if you are worried about going without menthol or other flavourings then now the perfect time to make the switch to vaping with iBreathe.

We have a range of menthol E-Liquids including menthol Premium liquid and our brand new Nic Salt menthol. Not a menthol fan? That’s not a problem. Alongside our menthol range we have hundreds of other flavours and combinations to choose from.

So maybe now the time to start stopping? It’s easy, it’s iBreathe.

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How Much E-liquid?

It’s a question which a lot of new vapers ask themselves. The truth is there’s no right answer but there are a few things which can help you get a better idea.

Shelf Life

The first thing to consider is obviously how long you can safely use e-liquid for. If stored correctly in a cool, dry place and unopened, e-liquids won’t expire for around two years.

The longer e-liquids are exposed to air, the quicker they will oxidise and lose colour and flavour – so be careful!

How Often You Vape

This is perhaps the most important factor in determining how long e-liquid will last. It goes without saying that the more often you vape, the more e-liquid you’ll get through. Luckily, iBreathe has you covered if you need to stock up on more.

Vape Device

One way you could reduce the amount of e-liquid used is by carefully choosing your vape device. Different vapes use different amounts of power and in turn consume more liquid with each use. Pod vapes consume less power so shop around at iBreathe and way up your options.

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Best Vape Forums to Join

It does not matter if you are new to vaping or if you have been doing it for a while now, joining a vape community will be something that you will definitely do at some point or the other if you really like doing it. There are a lot of people that vape and are happy with their entry level ecigs that use cartridges. They just like vaping in their own space and they do it at their own time.

Then there are those vapers that really love getting the very best vape products out there. They like getting the vapes that produce heavy clouds and have beauty that is worthy of showing off to others. They make it a point to showboat their favourite vaping devices at special occasions and at social gatherings. There are also people who start vaping in order to help themselves quit smoking. People even take up vaping as nothing more than just a simple hobby to help them pass their time.

There are a lot of people that vape out there in the world – a lot. Whatever reason that you have for vaping, there is a whole community of people like yourself out there that will suit your reasons for vaping and your character. When it comes to vaping communities, what essentially comes to mind is a group of like minded individuals who also love to indulge in the activity of vaping. These groups of like minded vapers can then come together to share all the information that they have about vaping with each other. A vaping community can see people share information about the latest trends in the vaping industry, talk about new inventions and the best flavours in the market right now.

Online Forums for Vapers

With the increasing popularity of vaping, there are several online forums being formed. Throughout the world across different countries and locations, there are vaping message boards that people are joining.

Vaping Underground, Planet of the Vapes, Vapers Forum, E-cigarette Forum are among the most popular vape forums in terms of the number of subscriptions that they have. Then there are International Vapors Club, E-Cig Reviews, AussieVapers, Vaporama and E-Smokers Forum as well. You can rest assured that there is a virtually unlimited number of online forums out there for vapers.

Reddit

Of course, there is also the aspect of one of the most popular platforms for online communities called Reddit to consider. Hosting millions of different communities where discussions are held over a number of different topics, it is no surprise that Reddit also has communities pertaining to the vaping industry as well.

The Redit vaping communities hold the discussions in an ecosystem that is quite controlled. There are a lot of Subreddits that have been created in order to focus on particular topics. The rules set within the subreddits make sure that the people participating in the discussion stay on topic. This allows the vaping communities to properly share relevant information about the happenings of the vaping world with each other.

A lot of subreddits focusing on different topics exist. For instance, the r/Vaping is a subreddit that serves as a general vaping guide for redditors. r/DIY_ejuice is a subreddit that has discussions about e-liquids and the aspect of rebuildable atomizers that are used in vapes. r/electronic_cigarette is a subreddit which sees a lot of content about e-cigs posted there about everything from e-liquids to mods that can be made to the vaping devices.

Final Thoughts

The vaping community online has grown significantly in the past few years with the growing popularity of vaping itself. All of this has presented a wide range of opportunities for big players in the vape industry to grow and present better and better options for the vapers all over the world. Whether you are someone who has recently started vaping as a hobby or you are someone who loves to vape to show off to the world, you can find a suitable vaping community out there for yourself.

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Why Are Menthol Cigarettes So Popular

First developed back in the early 1920s, menthol cigarettes came around as something that was revolutionary for the tobacco industry. These are cigarettes that have been flavoured with the menthol compound. This compound gives the smoker a mint flavour when the smoker inhales a puff of the cigarette, which is cool and soothing for the throat. These cigarettes are made exactly the same way as the non-menthol cigarettes are made for the most part but there is a slight difference. During the manufacturing process, the menthol is added to it during the manufacturing to give it that distinctive flavour. This menthol flavour is either produced entirely synthetically or through the distilled corn mint oil.

In more recent menthol cigarettes, a new innovation has come about that includes a small capsule that is contained within the filter of the cigarette. The cigarette is just like a traditional tobacco cigarette. The only difference is that once you squeeze the filter containing the capsule and pop it, it is “switched” into a menthol cigarette because the popping capsule releases the menthol flavour into the filter of the cigarette.

Why Are They So Popular?

The simple fact of the matter that has been the cause of menthol cigarettes becoming so popular is that they provide a much easier smoking experience. When you smoke traditional cigarettes, there is this slight irritation that they cause in the throat, which a lot of people did not really like but became used to. With the introduction of menthol cigarettes, this irritation went away for a cool and smooth smoking experience. The menthol content made it a lot easier to smoke cigarettes without the burning sensation or irritation. It is only logical that they were going to become so popular. Of course with the sensation of being much easier to smoke, many people assume that menthol cigarettes are less harmful for their health than the traditional cigarettes. That is where the problem lies.

You see, menthol cigarettes do not take away any of the harmful content that is already present in regular cigarettes. It only makes it easier for you to smoke more and more cigarettes without feeling the hits as strongly as you otherwise would.

Menthol cigarettes have been notorious for the fact that they are more likely to get smokers addicted to nicotine than regular cigarettes can. Smokers of menthol cigarettes show greater signs of nicotine dependency and are less likely to successfully quit smoking. The cooling and anaesthetic properties that reduce the harshness of the cigarette smoking experience are what make people look to menthol cigarettes as alternatives to regular cigarettes.

In the United States, menthol cigarettes were very common for a long time among the African American community. This was because during the late 90s and early 2000s, there were a lot of racial issues going on in the country and the tobacco industries were cashing in on it. Companies producing menthol cigarettes were particularly active in advertising menthol cigarettes to African American communities through the likes of the Ebony magazine to get their support. It worked because they had a significant amount of support opposing the government’s proposals for tobacco control in the country.

Is There A Better Alternative?

There is no denying the fact that traditional cigarettes are quite harmful. The burning of the tobacco and inhaling it along with all the chemicals and the tar accompanied by the nicotine makes it a serious addiction. When you go for the menthol cigarettes, it takes things to a different level since it makes you feel like you can easily smoke more. That deceptive element makes menthol cigarettes more harmful than traditional cigarettes and their initial marketing of being better than non-menthol cigarettes was entirely misleading.

Luckily, there is an actual alternative to smoking that exists now. Smokers that are looking to quit the habit can now resort to using vapes that have nicotine content in their e-liquids. This allows them to get their dose of nicotine without the additional chemicals, the smoke and the tar from traditional cigarettes. For more information about vapes and where you can get them, go to https://www.ibreathe.co.uk.