Have you ever wondered how to reduce the nicotine level in your e-liquid? I found a way to make e-liquid last longer and stretch further was to buy a higher nicotine level than I needed and cut it down. While not great for flavor, it does reduce the cost of buying premium e-liquid. Maybe you accidentally bought an e-liquid that was a higher nicotine level than you originally thought, we will discuss ways to bring the nicotine level to a vapeable level for you. While there are many reasons that people choose to reduce the amount of nicotine in their e-liquid, bear in mind that this is something that happens all the time. You are by no means the first person to ask this question and you wont be the last. There is more than one way to achieve this goal, one will sacrifice flavor while the other is more expensive.
Safety First
Always remember, when handling e-liquid that you should take proper precautions. In a diluted state, such as the levels we are discussing in this post, liquid nicotine poses little threat on contact with skin, but should still be treated with respect. As the label says, keep it away from children and animals and don’t drink the stuff. Wear gloves and try not to spill it in your coffee cup. As an adult, drinking a 30 ml bottle of 6 mg/ml would make you extremely sick but could pose greater risks to pets and tiny humans, so don’t leave anything where they can get hold of it while you are answering your phone.
The Concept Of Cutting E-Liquid
The concept is actually very simple, while the math may be confusing at first. We will start off with the simplest formula on the planet: doubling the solution will effectively half the nicotine content. If you have 30 ml of e-liquid with a nicotine content of 0.6% (or 6 mg/ml) and add 30 ml of your desired cutting agent, you will be left with 60 ml at 0.3% (or 3 mg/ml). Cutting in half is a very simple task, no need for complicated thinking. For the purposes of the following examples this is exactly what we will do, we will reduce from 6 to 3.
Using Straight USP Grade VG
The quickest and cheapest solution is to have some Vegetable Glycerin lying around the house. USP grade VG is readily available in many convenience stores and pharmacies and is extremely inexpensive. Locally you will only be able to get small bottles, approximately enough to cut 6 30 ml bottles of e-liquid, but if you go online you can get it by the gallon. All you have to do is take your 30 ml bottle of e-liquid and mix it with 30 ml of VG. Combine them, shake them and leave the concoction alone for a while to have everything mix together properly and you have just completed your first nicotine reduction experiment. You may have to leave it for a few days to steep, basically allowing all of the contents to gel together and giving the flavor chance to come out as much as possible.
Using The Original E-Liquid
There are many people who, when realizing that the e-liquid they bought was twice as high as their original intent will buy a second, nicotine free bottle. Similar in principle to our first experiment, the only difference being that the liquid will retain its full flavor. Mix the solutions together, shake them and leave the mixture to do its magic. You probably wont have to spend as much time steeping the solution as the flavor is already present in the entire liquid. Buying an entirely new bottle is more expensive, but it allows you to vape the e-liquid as the manufacturer intended.
Conclusion
Cutting e-liquid to reduce the nicotine content is the simplest form of DIY. As long as you pay attention to the safety aspects of mixing your own e-liquid together, there is no reason you should ever have to throw away another bottle just because the nicotine is too high. Doubling the solution the nicotine is suspended in will half the nicotine content of the final product. I guess this means that if you want 120 ml of a particular e-liquid, according to vape math you should buy 30 ml at 12 mg/ml and add 90 ml of VG.
As always, enjoy your vaporizer and vape safe!
