Vaping Glossary, Abbreviations, and Lingo!

July 05, 2019

If you are new to vaping, or even if you've been around just a short time, you are probably expecting a learning curve with all the acronyms and slang. While a wide variety of starter devices, kits, and simplistic all in one systems have made getting into vaping really easy, there may still be a bit of studying to do when it comes to vaping terms and lingo.  What we've done in this post is compiled a list of the most common terms and initialisms to help everyone out! 

VG — vegetable glycerin, one of two primary substances used in making eLiquids. Thicker component and the cloud producer. Higher VG mixes typically provide smoother hits.

PG — propylene glycol, the second primary substance used in making eLiquids. Thinner component and the flavor and nic carrier. Higher PG mixes typically provide greater throat hit.

CBD — cannabidiol, a compound of cannabis that is attributed a variety of healing properties which does not have psychotropic effects.

MG — milligram strength per milliliter of nicotine in your eLiquid.

mL — Short for milliliter, the usual measurement for eLiquids.  For reference 30mL is about 1 fluid ounce. 

Nic — short for nicotine.

Nic salts — a term used to describe the natural state of nicotine found in tobacco leaves. Nic salts are praised for better absorption rates and are capable of delivering higher nicotine concentrations into your system.

Zero-Nic — eLiquid with no nicotine.

ADV (All Day Vape) – if you really like a certain flavor and are ready to vape it all day long, this is what you will call your all day vape.

PV — Personal Vaporizer.

APV — Advanced Personal Vaporizer.

Atomizer — a component of a vaping device that converts the liquid into vapor, often called an Atty. 

Tank — a transparent chamber that holds the eLiquid.

Coil — the part of the vaping device that heats the eLiquid.

Wick — a component of some vaping devices that helps the liquid flow to the atomizer.

Pod mod — a vaping device that uses pre-filled cartridges.

Box mod — a powerful vaping device with a large battery, typically square in shape.

Cig-a-Like — a vaping device that looks like a traditional cigarette.

AIO —  All in One devices like refillable pod systems.

Squonker —  Mods that have what is essentially a RDA on top, with a bottle within the mod that you fill with your eLiquid and gently squeeze to feed the liquid into your RDA in place of dripping.

Hybrid — Refers to a mech mod, having a direct atomizer to battery connection.

Resistance — How much opposition there is to the regular flow of electricity in a circuit. Resistance depends on several factors: wire thickness, the number of coils, the circumference of the coils, etc.

Ohm — a measure of electrical resistance.

Wattage — the amount of power used by the atomizer coil.

Sub-ohm vaping device — a device with atomizer coils that have a resistance of less than one ohm. Typically used for blowing large clouds.

​RDA — Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer; any rebuildable atomizer that doesn't have a sealed reservoir of liquid. You have to drip into them. It makes more sense for the "D" to stand for "dripping" in this case.

RTA — Rebuildable Tank Atomizer; a rebuildable atomizer that does have a sealed reservoir.

RBA — ReBuildable Atomizer; An alternative to pre-built coils on tanks that support it. An RBA is a separate component that the maker may offer for tanks that also use pre-built coils.  

RDTA —  Rebuildable Dripping Tank Atomizer; like an RTA, but the deck is above the liquid reservoir instead of submerged in it. The user may choose to drip eLiquid directly on the wicks and coils as well as fill the reservoir. The idea is that since the tank is below the deck, the build area can be larger and the whole thing behaves like an RDA, but with the convenience of an RTA.

Kick/Throat hit — describes the feeling at the back of the throat when vaping.

Draw — the act of inhaling vapor from the mouthpiece of your vaping device.

Dry hit — an unpleasant taste you get when inhaling when the cotton or other wicking material in your vaping device is not saturated with eLiquid.

French hit — when you vape out of the mouth, and then re-inhale through the nose.

MTL (mouth-to-lung) — drawing vapor into your mouth, then inhaling it into your lungs.

DTL (direct-to-lung) — a vaping method when you inhale vapor straight into the lungs.

Vaper’s tongue — a loss of ability to taste the flavor of eLiquid. It typically occurs after you’ve been vaping the same flavor for a long time.

How did we do on the list? Did we miss any? Are there any mistakes? Got any more terms we should include? Let us know in the comments! 

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