What Does Vaping Mean?
Vaping means inhaling the cloud made when a battery-powered device heats a liquid. The word is short for vaporizing, and the people who do it call themselves vapers. For many of them, it is also a hobby with its own gear, language and community.
This primer covers what vaping is and how it works, the rules every adult vaper should know, the terms you will hear, and what the community is like.
Short version: A vape heats e-liquid into a cloud you inhale. Most vapes contain nicotine, which is addictive, although nicotine-free juice exists. Vaping is for adults 21+, it is banned in many places where smoking is, and the community around it has its own gear, slang and events.
What vaping is
A vape, also called an e-cigarette, has three basic parts: a battery, a heating coil and a supply of e-liquid. When you take a puff or press the fire button, the battery heats the coil. The coil sits in a wick soaked with e-liquid, and the heat turns that liquid into a cloud you inhale and breathe out.
E-liquid, also called vape juice or e-juice, is usually a mix of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), flavorings and nicotine. Nicotine-free versions are available, and the strength is printed on every label. Our guide to what e-liquid is explains each ingredient.
Technically the cloud is an aerosol, a mist of tiny droplets, rather than a true vapor, but vapor is the word that stuck.
Vaping vs. smoking
The key difference from a cigarette is that nothing burns. That does not mean vaping is without risk. The CDC notes that e-cigarette aerosol can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, and scientists are still learning about the long-term effects of vaping. Nicotine is addictive whether it comes from a cigarette or a vape.
The main types of vapes
- Disposables come filled and charged. When one runs out, dispose of it properly, since it contains a lithium battery that should not go in household trash.
- Pod systems are small, simple devices with refillable or prefilled pods, usually used with nic salts.
- Box mods are larger devices with bigger batteries and adjustable power, usually paired with a sub-ohm tank.
- Rebuildables, such as RDAs and RTAs, let hobbyists build and wick their own coils.
For a fuller walkthrough of devices and setup, read our beginner’s guide to vaping.
Why adults vape
Ask ten adult vapers why they vape and you will hear ten answers. Many used to smoke. Others enjoy the flavors, the gear, or the ritual of building and tuning a setup. Because e-liquid comes in a range of strengths, including 0 mg, you choose how much nicotine you use.
If you smoke and are thinking about switching, talk to your doctor first. No vaping product is FDA-approved as a quit-smoking aid, and public-health bodies disagree on the details. The CDC also says e-cigarettes are not safe for adults who do not currently use tobacco products. For current guidance, see cdc.gov and fda.gov, and read our article on vaping vs. smoking.
The rules every adult vaper should know
- Age. In the US, the federal minimum age to buy any tobacco or vaping product is 21. That has been federal law since December 2019.
- Where you can vape. Many states and cities include vaping in their smoke-free laws, so it is often banned wherever smoking is. Laws change, so check your state and city and follow posted signs.
- Flavors. Flavor rules vary by state and city and change often.
- Products. Every vaping product needs FDA premarket authorization, and many are still under review.
- Etiquette. Ask before you vape around others, and keep your clouds to yourself. Our guide to vaping etiquette covers the details.
The language of vaping
Here is the shorthand you will hear most often.
- Vape. Both the device and the verb for using one. Oxford Dictionaries named it word of the year in 2014.
- Coil and wick. The heating element and the cotton that feeds it juice.
- Tank, RDA and RTA. Types of atomizer, the part that holds the coil. A tank holds a supply of juice, an RDA (rebuildable dripping atomizer) is fed a few drops at a time, and an RTA is a tank you build yourself.
- MTL and DTL. Mouth-to-lung is a tighter draw you pull into your mouth first, like a cigarette. Direct-to-lung is an open draw you breathe straight in.
- Sub-ohm. Vaping on a coil below 1 ohm of resistance, usually for bigger clouds. See our sub-ohm guide.
- Throat hit. The catch at the back of your throat, shaped mostly by nicotine strength and PG.
- Nic salts. A form of nicotine that feels smoother at higher strengths, made for pod systems.
- ADV. Short for all-day vape, a flavor you could happily vape from morning to night.
- Cloud chasing. Tuning a setup for the biggest, densest clouds, once a fixture of vape expo competitions.
- Dry hit. The harsh, burnt puff you get when the wick runs dry. Here is how to avoid one.
- Steeping. Letting a bottle rest so its flavors settle. Read how to steep e-liquid.
- Squonking. Squeezing juice from a bottle inside the mod up into the atomizer. Our squonking guide explains it.
- Vape mail. A delivery of juice or gear, and for many vapers the best part of the week.
Vaping culture
Vaping grew from a niche into a community of its own. Over the years that has meant vape expos, YouTube channels devoted to reviews and coil building, brands that talk directly with their customers, and forums where people swap flavor recommendations.
It is a social hobby as well. Vapers often strike up conversations with strangers about their devices or flavors, and some of us at ZampleBox have made good friends that way. Flavor talk is a big part of it: people share their current ADV, debate the best custard, and compare notes on new releases.
The gear changed fast along the way. Early e-cigarettes were built to look like cigarettes. Then came pen-style devices, adjustable box mods, sub-ohm tanks, pod systems and disposables.
The modern e-cigarette is generally credited to Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist, in the early 2000s. Read who invented vaping for the full story.
Want the longer version? We made a video about what vaping means to us, and there is more on our video post.
If you already vape and enjoy trying new flavors, the Zamplebox Club sends bottles matched to your flavor profile every month. You can swap any bottle before it ships, and skip, pause or cancel anytime.
Common questions
Is vaping the same as smoking?
No. A cigarette burns tobacco, while a vape heats a liquid without burning it. Both usually deliver nicotine, which is addictive. For current health guidance, talk to your doctor and see cdc.gov and fda.gov.
Do all vapes contain nicotine?
No, but most do. Many e-liquids come in a 0 mg version, so check the label before you buy.
How old do you have to be to buy a vape?
In the US, the federal minimum age is 21. Some states and cities add their own rules, so check where you live.
Is a vape the same as an e-cigarette?
Yes. E-cigarette is the term regulators and health agencies tend to use, while most vapers just say vape.
WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. For adults 21+ only.