What Is Salt Nicotine?

Salt nicotine is a fairly new craze in the vaping world. If you’ve found your way to this blog post, then you are probably wondering what exactly ‘nicotine salts’ are, and why some people choose to use them over traditional e-liquids. Well, you’re in the right place! 


What Are Nicotine Salts?

Freebase Nicotine
In order to understand what nicotine salts are, let's compare them to the alternative form of nicotine: freebase nicotine. Freebase is the purest form of nicotine, and is the most commonly used form of nicotine in e-liquids as it has been around for far longer than nicotine salts. Freebase nicotine is created by adding ammonia to pure nicotine. This is because nicotine by itself would not be very potent in the body at all; nicotine is made up of negatively charged particles which essentially means that, when it enters the body, the particles cannot move across  organic membranes very well. 

So, we must ‘freebase’ the nicotine in order to make it more effective in the body and increase the bioavailability. (Bioavailability refers to the amount at which a substance is absorbed by the body). The vast majority of e-liquids on the market contain freebase nicotine.


Nicotine Salts
Nicotine salts are a type of nicotine that is found naturally in the tobacco leaf. Because nicotine salts are found in the tobacco leaf, you will have already experienced them if you have smoked a traditional cigarette! However, if we were to leave the nicotine from the tobacco leaf in its natural state, we would have to heat it to very high temperatures in order to properly vaporize it in an e-liquid. Additionally, the bioavailability would be lower than that of freebase nicotine. Therefore, we must go through some further modification in order to turn it into a nicotine salt that we can add to our e-liquid - namely, adding benzoic acid. 

Adding benzoic acid will: allow the nicotine salt to vaporize at much lower temperatures; allow the nicotine salt to be absorbed into the body more easily, increasing the bioavailability; and lower the PH level of the nicotine salt in order to produce a smoother throat hit. This smooth throat hit - even at high doses - is the key to why nicotine salts are so desirable. 



salt freebase nicotine


Vaping Salt Nicotine E-Liquids

Why Choose Nicotine Salts?
When vaping a traditional freebase nicotine e-liquid, most people wouldn’t choose a strength above 18mg. This is because the hit would be too harsh; it would burn the throat, and not be a very pleasant experience! Alternatively, when vaping nicotine salts, you would be able to use an e-liquid with a much higher nicotine strength. People who like to vape a 3mg freebase nicotine would be able to comfortably vape a nicotine salt e-liquid with a strength of up to 50mg. 


As mentioned previously, nicotine salts are found naturally in the tobacco leaf and are therefore experienced when you smoke a traditional tobacco cigarette. Therefore, using a nicotine salt e-liquid in your e-cigarette will closely mimic the sensation of smoking a traditional cigarette: a soft, smooth throat hit with a high dosage of nicotine. Additionally, the flavour profile can be much stronger and more prominent than that of a freebase nicotine e-liquid. In freebase e-liquids, the nicotine dosage can have an impact on the level of the flavour. With nicotine salts this does not apply, so even at high nicotine doses you will be able to experience a full bodied flavour. 


When NOT To Use Nicotine Salts
When using a nicotine salt e-liquid, you must be mindful of the e-cigarette device that you are using. This type of e-liquid is not designed for high powered, sub-ohm, mod devices. Instead, you should opt for a lower wattage model; a pod system would be perfect for this.

Additionally, nicotine salts are not designed for those who are looking for a nicotine free/ low nicotine e-liquid. If you are happy vaping a 0mg or 3mg freebase nicotine e-liquid, then it may be too strong for you to opt for a higher dosage of nicotine in a salt e-liquid. Although the throat hit will be smooth, you may not require that level of nicotine in order to provide satisfaction.

 

The Best Nicotine Salt Brands & The Best Vape Devices To Use Them With
For an excellent salt nicotine e-liquid brand, choose SOLT+. This brand offers an immensely wide variety of flavours covering the fruit, dessert, menthol, and tobacco flavour profiles. They are available in a choice of a 10mg and 20mg nicotine strength. These e-liquids are expertly blended to provide some of the best and boldest flavours you’ll ever experience in a vape, and of course they provide a wonderfully smooth throat hit. 


Here are some of the best low wattage vape devices and pod systems to use with your salt nicotine e-liquid:

  • Aspire Nautilus AIO
  • Aspire AVP Kit
  • Aspire Tigon
  • Aspire Breeze NXT
  • Freemax Twister Kit
  • Uwell Caliburn Kit