Today we will try to figure out what nicotine salts (or saline nicotine) are and what are its pros or cons in comparison with the “regular” nicotine we are familiar with.So, what are nicotine salts and where do they come from? In this post, we will not actively delve into the history of the emergence of this new trend in the industry or study its chemical properties, but somewhat superficially go over the topic, finding out for ourselves all the facts necessary for a simple vaper regarding nic salts.
What are nicotine salts?
Nicotine salts are found in tobacco leaves. But, as you know, it has not been in cigarettes for a long time, but this type of nicotine consumption is much faster and more robust than vaping. Unlike the nicotine we are used to, which is in our liquids, salt nicotine is a more complex compound containing, in addition to the substance itself, other organic components.
Nicotine, traditionally used in vaping liquids, is called “free” (from English “freebase nicotine”). This nicotine is usually not associated with any other substance and is considered preferable for vaping due to its volatility (i.e. it merely evaporates quickly). But despite its advantages, it is not devoid of a vital disadvantage – heavy initial assimilation by the body, because getting into the blood does not occur immediately after the first puff.
Benefits of Nicotine Salts
What does all this research mean for us as end-users? And there are, in fact, a lot of “goodies” here. First, liquids with nic salts are as close as possible to ordinary cigarettes in terms of the rate of nicotine absorption into the blood (and there, according to some information, urea is added to achieve the same effect, along with hundreds of various additives of different carcinogenicity). Many newbie vapers, moving from cigarettes to steam, faced the problem when the state of “high” comes with a long delay. Salt nicotine, in this case, copes much better with the function of blood saturation, since it is instantly absorbed through the lungs.
Conclusion
A reasonable question arises about the safety of such a new kind of nicotine for humans. Initial studies have shown that although nicotine salts contain “extra” components compared to free nicotine, they remain just as safe when vaping as the more familiar form of this substance. And, although animal tests still showed a small risk to health, nevertheless, in the future, liquids containing nicotine salts are no more harmful than ordinary ones and certainly safer than “analogue cigarettes. The well-known fighter for vaping promotion Dr K. Farsalinos is scepticalabout the new trend. To date, there are practically no full-fledged studies, and the acid contained in the composition can react with some parts of the atomizers and cause corrosion.