Glossary
Atomiser – Part of the e-cigarette that houses the coil, wick and e-liquid.
Atomiser head – Component housing coil and wick, allowing these parts to be replaced. Often referred to as a “coil”.
Coil – The heating element in the atomiser, used to heat the e-liquid and produce vapour. This term is also commonly used to describe an atomiser head.
Drip Tip – A mouthpiece with a large enough opening to allow users to drip e-liquid directly onto the wick in a coil. This term is now commonly used to describe any mouthpiece.
Drip/Dripping/Direct Drip – To add liquid to your atomiser by dripping e-liquid directly onto the coil. Now a relatively uncommon practice, this requires a special atomiser known as an RDA (rebuildable dripping atomiser).
Dry Burn – Term for the overheating of e-liquid by the coil in an e-cigarette, often when there is insufficient or no liquid in the device.
Dry Hit – A term used to describe a drag on an e-cigarette when the coil overheats the e-liquid. This leads to a distinctively acrid and unpleasant taste, and dry hits cannot generally be inhaled.
DTL or DL – Direct to lung. A vaping style that involves drawing the vapour directly to the lungs. Requires high device power and very open airflow. Favoured by a small proportion of experienced vapers, and not commonly required to be able to quit. See Vaping Styles for more information.
E-liquid – Liquid (usually containing nicotine) heated in an e-cigarette to produce the vapour.
ENDS – Electronic Nicotine Delivery System, for example an e-cigarette.
mAh – milliamp hour (1/1000th of an amp per hour). This describes the charge capacity of a battery. The higher the capacity, the longer the battery can last between charges.
mg/ml – milligram per millilitre. This is used to express the nicotine content of e-liquid. For example 3mg/ml means 3 milligrams of nicotine per 1 millilitre of liquid. A 1% nicotine solution contains very close to 10mg/ml, meaning that some manufacturers would refer to a 3mg/ml nicotine strength as 0.3%.
MTL – Mouth to lung. This describes vaping in a similar way to inhaling smoke from a tobacco cigarette. The vapour is inhaled into the mouth while using the e-cigarette, and then inhaled more deeply with mouth open after the e-cigarette is removed. See Vaping Styles for more information.
Ohm (Ω) – Unit of electrical resistance, referring to the resistance of a coil or atomiser head. Lower resistances are generally suited to higher power, and vice versa.
PG – Propylene Glycol. This is one of the main base ingredients found in e-liquid. Pharmaceutical grade PG is generally used by good quality e-liquid manufacturers. It contributes to the flavour profile of e-liquid, and assists with the absorption of nicotine in the soft tissues of the upper respiratory tract.
Prime / Priming – The process of wetting the wick of an atomiser head (AKA coil) prior to vaping with it for the first time. This step is important for all products that are not prefilled.
RDA – Rebuildable Dripping Atomiser. See Direct Dripping for explanation.
RTA – Rebuildable Tank Atomiser. Similar to an RDA, but includes a tank so that “direct dripping” is not required.
Sub-Ohm/Sub-Ohming – vaping using a coil with resistance below one ohm, normally in a DTL style, and often producing large volumes of dense vapour at high power.
Tank – The most common type of atomiser. Includes a receptacle that can contain e-liquid, and is refillable.
VG – Vegetable Glycerine. This is a main base ingredient found in e-liquid, and included only at pharmaceutical grade by good quality manufacturers. VG produces thicker vapour than PG, and is smoother to inhale.
VV – Variable Voltage. The output voltage of the e-cigarette can be controlled, allowing the coil temperature and therefore vapour delivery to be adjusted to user preference.
VW – Variable Wattage. Allows the power output (AKA wattage) of the e-cigarette to be controlled. Unlike VV, VW devices can be set independent of changing coil resistance (in ohms), and is more common than VV because of this convenience.
Wick – Absorbent material that delivers e-liquid to the heating element so it can be vaporised. Wicks are normally made from natural cotton or silica rope.
