Part 1: Know your device, and is it good for your government appointed pigeon?

Quitting a habit is always hard, quitting an addiction is harder. We at VapeHQ, with a little feathered oversight, are here to help you. To ease the burden and make your journey as stress free as possible. The fact that you’re here and not trying to wrap your fags in masking tape to make them unsmokable probably means you’re interested in using a Vape. So let’s get to what devices there are, and why you might find your government appointed pigeon trying to steal it out of your handbag when you’re not looking.

First off, what types of devices are there. 

There are 3 main types of device, prefilled, mouth to lung and direct to lung. The one you will see most often advertised in places like supermarkets and on shelves in your local corner shops are the prefilled devices. This is mainly because they are a replacement for the disposable which was the favourite of the pigeons until they were discontinued. Next is the mouth to lung device. This one has had the most development, coming from something called a “cartomizer” right up to the modern refillable pod systems like the Q2 and Q2Pro. These will work with most common liquids, but there are a few facts you should know before you pick up any old mouth to lung device and start vaping. Third is the direct to lung vape. These are a favourite of the special forces sea pigeon, aka the seagulls, not town pigeons. Don’t let your pigeon see you using this. Direct to lung devices are also known as “SubOhm” devices and “cloud chasing” devices and you’ll recognise them as the ones that have a fog bank rolling down the street behind the person using it. They don’t all produce that much vape, but it’s what they got known for.

So, lets go back a step and look at the prefilled devices, what they’re good at, not so good at and why your pigeon will try to snag it. 

Prefilled devices are the main replacement for disposable vapes. They are easy to set up and a quick hit when you need it, with a requirement to be rechargeable to cut down on waste and pollution. The pod comes prefilled with e-liquid and when it runs out, you throw the pod away and replace it with a new one, keeping the battery each time. Many of these have a dual tank system referred to as “10+2” where an additional 10 ml cartridge can be installed to top this up. This is almost the same as a really old system called a “Squonk mod” which was banned under TPD however the MHRA are allowing these 10+2 systems. For now.

What are the downsides to the Prefilled system? And how might they benefit you? 

A Pro for these systems is, with their use being to replace the disposable, you can buy these products almost everywhere. Petrol station, supermarket, carboot, you can even find them in places like barbers and pubs sometimes. This means that they are your easy access option. They are quick to set up, remove a couple of stickers and click it together. They are simple to use, it’s a suck and go system. 

But there are downsides to them. 1 being the nicotine strength. Many of the places selling these are not vape shops and do not know what they are buying. So when they buy them, they buy what they think people will want and often only have the maximum strength. This means that you will commonly be kept vaping the maximum strength making it much harder to quit. This is why we at QLabs made QSalts and have been developing our QSeries devices with Vapefly, because we don’t think that the prefilled model works for those wanting to quit nicotine.

“What are Mouth to Lung devices?”

I hear your pigeon whisper into your ear. Creepy pigeon, tis the season, but, personal space! 

Mouth to Lung devices are a very long standing type of device in the vape industry, built to mimic the action of a cigarette. They have over a decade of development behind them from companies like Aspire and Innokin making massive improvements to the technology in that time. These devices come in several forms now, not just the battery and tank design pioneered by Innokin, but they all fundamentally work in the same way, with a refillable tank, which will have either a replaceable coil or be in the form of a replaceable pod which houses the coil. The battery, sometimes referred to as the mod, is rechargeable and will have either a 510 screw fit for the tank or a magnetic locking mechanism for the pod to hold it in place. They don’t always come with a button to operate it, for example the Q2 does not have a button and works like a disposable, but the Q2 Pro does have a button. 

Mouth to lung devices also have a wide range of options available to them. From the coil type, coil resistance (how much vapour the coil will produce), liquid type, flavour and strength, and the nicotine type. This means that if you are looking to quit smoking, and quit nicotine all together, a mouth to lung device gives you the means to do just that! A downside to them is you are going to have to go to a vape store to get these devices, generally speaking anyway, as all the additional stuff is more expensive for a corner shop to stock and so they tend not to have them. But, while that can be seen as a problem, especially for your pigeon (who we will not allow inside our stores,) it does mean that you will have access to our guidance and help in your journey for quitting! Something many ex smokers would agree is invaluable.

Last we have the seagulls favourite, the Yob pigeon if you will. Sub Ohm devices. 

I’m not going to go much into this, as this is primarily the enthusiast sector. It can help some people quitting smoking but it’s most commonly the people who like to invest time into knowledge on a subject that will get these. They give large clouds, use 0 or very low nicotine liquids, and focus on flavour. A big plus for this is some vape stores focus on the subohm sector as a primary. Meaning you can get a lot of support, though that also comes with the caveat that this is not a common thing. If you’ve tried other vape devices and they have not managed to curb your addiction, this might be your path to better health.

So, if you are wondering whether or not vaping could help you quit smoking, or are just wanting to hide from your surveillance pigeon for a little while and are interested in trying a new vape, drop by a VapeHQ store and talk to our staff. 

Next week, we will take a deep dive into nicotine, what we mean be nicotine strengths, types, and what information a pigeon might be after if one stops you with an impromptu interrogation.