When you use an electronic cigarette, instead of being called “smoking” the usage is referred to as “vaping” since you are not producing any combustible materials. Instead of a traditional cigarette which burns tobacco when you smoke it, the electronic cigarette makes use of a built-in atomizer that heats e liquid or e juice and creates a vapor that contains nicotine, flavoring, water, and a vapor producing substance such as propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin. Since e cigs do not produce smoke and are not combustible, they can be used in many places that traditional smoking is banned. A common mis-perception in the public is that e cigs are a smoking cessation device, when in actuality they are an alternative to smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes that don’t produce an odor and do not contain the numerous chemicals found in traditional tobacco smokes.
Deciphering Electronic Cigarette Terms
One of the education hurdles for a person considering the switch to vapor smoking is deciphering all of the terms that are associated with e-cigs. The following are some of the terms that you may run across when reading about electronic cigarettes or e liquid.
Atomizer – The atomizer is the part of the e cig that automatically vaporizes the e liquid or e juice into vapor smoke.
Cartridge – A cartridge or cart is an empty or prefilled cartridge that is used to insert in an e cig to provide the e liquid to the atomizer. Empty cartridges are used to manually fill with e liquid by the user while pre-filled ones may also be purchased from e cig manufacturers.
- Dripping – Dripping refers to the act of directly apply e liquid or e juice to an electronic cigarette atomizer.
- E Liquid – E liquid, e juice, or smoke juice all refer to the liquid that has water, nicotine, flavoring, and a vapor producing substance such as propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin in it and is used to produce the vapor smoke by an e cig.
- Johnson Creek – A popular producer of American-made premium e liquid or smoke juice.
- Propylene Glycol – The most common ingredient used to produce the visual smoke in e liquid. Also referred to as PG and is used in a number of other FDA approved products and is recognized as generally being safe for humans.
- Smokeless Cigarettes – An alternative term used to describe electronic cigarettes or e cigs.
- Vegetable Glycerin – An alternative chemical used to produce vapor smoke for those who are allergic to propylene glycol.
- Vaping – The act of using an electronic cigarette.
