What Are Nic Salts? A Beginners' Guide
Do you ever find that your vape is too harsh? Prefer a satisfying nicotine hit to vast clouds of vapour?
Nicotine salts (more commonly known as nic salts) might be your answer!
Thanks to their smooth throat hit and the popularity they have found in disposable devices, nic salts are fast becoming the preferred form of e-liquid to use.
In this post we’ll look at what nicotine salts are, their pros and cons, and the best devices to use them with. While writing this post, we also spoke to Public Health & Tobacco Dependence expert Dr Jacques Houzec to get some expert insights into nicotine salts and how they work.
Contents
- What are nic salts?
- Pros of using nic salts
- Cons of using nic salts
- How do you use nic salts?
- Best hardware for salts
- Best nic salts ranges
- Summary
What are nicotine salts?
Nicotine salts (commonly called nic salts) are a type of vape juice (aka e-liquid) that use the natural form of nicotine found in the tobacco leaf. It provides a smoother throat hit than regular (freebase nicotine) juice.
To gain a deeper understanding of nicotine salts, it’s worth looking at freebase vape juice first.
Freebase e-liquid
Freebase e-liquid is ideal for use with more powerful vape devices.
Nicotine is found in tobacco leaves. It’s found elsewhere (including in some everyday vegetables!) but tobacco leaves are particularly high in the substance. In tobacco, it’s found in the form of salts. But these salts don’t just contain nicotine – they also contain other compounds and protons.
To create the freebase nicotine found in most vape juice and cigarettes, the salts need to be stripped of these protons. To do so, they are soaked in ammonia, which frees the nicotine from its protons. The nicotine then turns into a gas-phase form more easily.
Gas phase nicotine is more easily deposited in the lungs and crosses membranes more easily. That means it’s going to reach the brain more quickly and deliver a more effective nicotine hit.
The result is a more volatile and satisfying nicotine when used in cigarettes. In fact, according to Steven and Proctor, when Marlboro discovered the process in the 1960s, they found that it kept smokers satisfied even when they were using lower-strength cigarettes.
The properties of freebase nicotine also made it ideal for vaping, as it turned into vapour more easily.
Nic salts in depth
It was originally thought that nicotine salts wouldn’t be effective in e-liquid, but US manufacturer Juul actually claimed that certain types of nicotine salts worked better than freebase nicotine.
However, in their original form nicotine salts are both unstable and harsh on the throat. Juul found a way around this by combining pure nicotine with a weak acid - a process known as protonation.
This has the following advantages:
- It allows nicotine to be vapourised at a lower temperature
- It lowers the ph level of nicotine
- It may make the nicotine more absorbable
On the last point, it is sometimes claimed that nicotine salts are absorbed faster into the blood than freebase nicotine. However, Dr Jacques Houezec was sceptical about this. He suggested that the real reason people get more nicotine is that they can take bigger puffs due to the reduced throat hit.
A 2019 study did find that nicotine from salt e-liquids was absorbed as rapidly into the bloodstream as nicotine from conventional cigarettes, but did not compare nicotine salts to freebase e-liquids. Another analysis found that freebase and nicotine salts delivered the same amount of nicotine, although that does not address the speed at which it is delivered.
I’d add that when I first tried nicotine salts, I did seem to get a stronger nicotine hit (‘blew my head off’ was the term I believe I used!) Nowadays, I regularly switch between salts and freebase, and don’t notice much of a difference, so this may have been psychological!
What acids are used to make nicotine salts?
A number of acids can be used to make nicotine salts; the most common are lactic, benzoic, and levulinic. A combination of acids can also be used. Juul’s patent claims that certain nicotine salts formulations work better than others - which likely refers to the different types of acid used.
What are the pros of using nicotine salts?
Nicotine salts have a number of differences from freebase e-liquid.
Smoother throat hit
Nicotine salts are smoother on the throat than e-liquid with freebase nicotine. They are particularly useful when used at higher nicotine levels as nicotine adds to the harshness of vapour and the stronger the nicotine level the harsher the throat hit.
So if you find your regular vape juice too harsh on the throat, nicotine salts could be the option for you.
Dr Houzec summarised it nicely as:
The advantage of salts is that they are less irritating than nicotine base, so people can inhale the vapour more easily. It is at first a new tool for those smokers who are unable to inhale vapour without coughing. To me it is a transition tool, and when smokers have totally stopped smoking, they can then use a classical e-liquid.
A 2021 study by Levanthal, Madden and Peraza seems to back this up, stating that:
Acid additives in e-cigarettes that change nicotine from freebase to salt appeared to enhance the appeal and sensory experience of vaping.
Cheaper
Nicotine salts are a more economical way to vape, as they are typically used with low-powered devices. As a result, many users will use less e-liquid than when using freebase or high VG e-liquids such as shortfills.
Stronger hit
Nicotine salts may deliver a stronger nicotine hit and/or deliver nicotine to the bloodstream more quickly. As we have seen, this is controversial, but it may be that people do take in more nicotine because they inhale more deeply when the throat hit is softer.
Why wouldn’t you use nicotine salts?
Not everybody needs to use nicotine salts – and not everybody should use nicotine salts. Here’s why:
Nicotine salts don’t work well with high-wattage devices
Higher wattage devices are designed for low-nicotine, high VG freebase e-liquids. When used with nicotine salts, the nicotine delivered is too high for most vapers, and the mismatch of e-liquid and device may cause leaking issues.
Not suitable for Direct-Lung vaping
Due to their VG:PG formulation and the fact they are best used with low wattage devices, nicotine salts produce less vapour than freebase e-liquid with a high VG content.
Weak throat hit
You might not want a smooth throat hit. Some people enjoy the hit on the back of the throat. I certainly found that when I first tried nicotine salts, I missed the feeling of the hit on the back of my throat (although that’s changed over time).
If you prefer a harsher feeling on the back of the throat, one which replicates a strong cigarette, you might be better off with freebase e-liquid.
How do you use nicotine salts?
The process of using nicotine salts is exactly the same as using freebase e-liquid. Simply add it to your tank or pod and allow it to soak into the coil for a few minutes before inhaling.
If you have a variable wattage device, do make sure you are using an appropriate setting - as recommended by the coil manufacturer.
What type of hardware is suitable for use with nicotine salts?
Low-powered devices like the XROS 4 & XROS 4 Mini are ideal for use with nic salts.
Devices
Nicotine salts are generally recommended for use with low-powered devices such as vape starter kits and basic pod systems.
That’s not to say that you can’t use them with larger, more powerful devices, but if you do you’ll want to turn the wattage down and avoid low-resistance coils, such as those under 0.6ohms.
Nicotine salts are also available in disposable form, but do be aware this is one of the most expensive ways to vape. A good alternative to disposables are prefilled pod kits, such as the Elfa Pro.
You can also use the Aspire R1, which is a cross between a disposable and a reusable device. Refillable and rechargeable, this device lasts about 7 refills before needing replacing.
Coils
A broad rule of thumb here is to use the vape coils and pods you’ll find with low-powered starter kits. These typically have a higher resistance than coils used for cloud vaping.
For example, a coil for cloud vaping might have a resistance as low as 0.1ohm, but the lowest we would recommend for nicotine salts is 0.6ohm.
What are the best UK nic salts ranges?
Do note that we cover these in-depth on our regularly updated nic salts review post. However, for a quick glance, some of our favourites include:
Halo Max: Double-concentrated nic salt and nicotine-free e-liquids in fruit, tobacco and menthol options.
Elfliq: Strong and sweet in flavour, Elfliq are best for vapers who prefer a disposable vape style taste
Elux Legends: An award-winning range with a wide selection of flavours - including traditional fruits, classic tobacco and more tropical options.
Gold Bar Salts: Fruit and tropical-flavoured salts Inspired by the popular Gold Bar disposable range
In case you’re wondering what my favourite is, I’m a die-hard menthol fan, so Halo Menthol Blast is my go-to vape. However, from time to time when I fancy a sweeter vape I’ll try something from Elfliq, SKE Crystal Original or IVG.
Final thoughts
Nic salts have changed from a niche product to the primary way most people start vaping. Thanks to their smooth throat hit at higher nicotine levels, they are a particularly good option for heavy smokers who don’t get on with regular (freebase) e-liquid.
If you’re looking for a smoother throat hit, or want to switch from expensive disposable devices to more economical reusable devices, why not give them a try?
FAQs
The Hexa Pro uses hybrid nicotine salts to create a cigarette-like draw.
Can you use nic salts in a regular vape device?
Yes, as long as that vape device is low powered. Nic salts are not suitable for use with high-powered mods, but they can be used in starter kits and low-powered pod systems.
The key is really the power level of the device - you want to avoid going above 18 watts. It’s also a good idea to avoid low-resistance coils (or pods using low-resistance coils) - ideally stick above 0.6 ohms.
What is hybrid e-liquid?
One interesting approach combines nicotine salts and freebase e-liquid to create a hybrid e-liquid somewhere in between. An example of this is the Hexa Pro device, which uses hybrid e-liquid in its prefilled pods.
What are bar salts?
The newest form of nicotine salts are ‘bar salts’. These have a stronger flavour concentration than regular salts or vape juices and are often a lot sweeter too. They are designed to replicate the taste of disposable vape devices.
Are nicotine salts more addictive than freebase e-liquid?
Some data shows that nicotine salts lead to sharper spikes in nicotine in the blood than the freebase nicotine in other e-liquids. We speculated that this could mean that nicotine salts are more addictive.
However, Dr Houezec told us:
Nicotine is nicotine, being in base form or salt form. Salts are just the result of the reaction of nicotine base with an acid, it is in a way a sort of reverse engineering as in the tobacco plants nicotine is present as salts.