Most e-cigarettes today let you choose your personal vaping experience. You might wonder how. Well, modern e-cigarettes or regulated “mods” that has a chip to control different outputs allows you to customize its settings. Variable such as wattage (VW) can be adjusted and affect the nicotine output. Now, that all sounds fancy, there’s more into it than just pressing the up and down button to get your ideal nicotine yield. Let’s delve a little on the science behind it before your vaping experience turns into a nightmare!

Variable Wattage vs. Variable Voltage

The science behind e-cigarettes is credited from the Ohm’s Law. Does it ring a bell? Yes, you are right—that one physics lesson your teacher from high school has taught you. Variables from Ohm’s Law are the main factors that affect your vaping experience—Voltage, Current, and Resistance. But, hold on, I thought we will be discussing wattage? Don’t worry, voltage and wattage are linked.

James Dunworth in his article entitled The Vaper’s Guide to Voltage, Watts and Ohms wrote that “the difference between variable voltage and variable wattage is a bit like the difference between an automatic and a manual car.” In this analogy, he explained that a variable voltage device allows you to “manually” adjust the amount of power (voltage) input through the coil. The power output, though, is highly dependent on the other variables in the Ohms Law—the resistance of the coil and the current flowing through it.

However, with a variable wattage device, you dictate how much power you want it to output. It will then “automatically” adjust the power input (the voltage) to produce your desired power (the wattage). To put it simply, wattage dictates how much your vape produces while voltage dictates how much power is put through the coil. Essentially, when you are increasing the wattage, you are telling your device to draw a higher voltage to input. So, as the wattage increases the voltage also increases and vice versa. In this article, we will be talking more about higher and lower power levels, or wattages.

Higher Wattage, More Nicotine per Puff

Now that you’ve got an idea of how wattage works, how does it influence the nicotine yield? A regulated mod set a higher wattage will tune-up the temperature hence more nicotine-containing liquid vaporized. The bigger the puff produced only means there will be more nicotine per puff. Does higher wattage mean more nicotine, then? Positively! Just as how a 50W-bulb will be brighter than a 30W-bulb, a mod set at 80W will produce more nicotine than a mod set at 50W. With this in mind, you’ll have the idea on how to produce those gigantic fluffy clouds or feel a more powerful throat hit.

Be Aware of the Danger

As you probably have guessed, overheating or explosion is associated with increasing the wattage. Power vaping that requires high wattage can be serious as experts advise. As the nicotine concentration increases, it also poses a greater health risk. A study in Roswell Park Cancer Institute entitled Flavorings, higher voltage increase toxicity of e-cigs supports it. The researchers confirmed that “increasing the battery output voltage of these devices significantly increases toxicity.” The more e-liquid burnt, the more carcinogen-related particles you inhale.

As mentioned earlier, a little bit of science will help you know how the wattage affects your nicotine kick. Although it is a matter of trial and error, it is still vital to start with a lower wattage before gradually increasing. For a better vaping experience, bear in mind the highest wattage capacity suggested in the coil and the dangers associated with higher wattages.