If you're reading this, you're probably already thinking about it. Maybe you've been thinking about it for a while. Maybe you've tried before — picked something up at a service station, given it a fair go, and ended up back on cigarettes within a week. Or maybe this is your first proper look at it.

Either way, this is written for you, and only you. We're not going to lecture you. We're not going to tell you what you already know about smoking. And we're not going to pretend that vaping is some magical solution that works for everyone the same way.

What we're going to do is tell you, plainly, what to expect — what works, what doesn't, what trips people up, and what to do if your first attempt at switching falls flat.

Why most "switching guides" don't help

There are roughly two kinds of switching content out there.

The first kind reads like a public health leaflet. It talks down to you, assumes you've never thought any of this through, and treats the decision to switch like a moral test. If you've smoked for a while, you've probably read a hundred of them. They don't tell you anything useful about what the experience is actually like.

The second kind is a sales pitch in a borrowed hat. The retailer dresses up "switching advice" as content, but every paragraph is steering you toward whatever they want to sell you that month. The advice is shaped by the inventory, not the other way round.

This is neither. We sell cigalikes — that's no secret, you're on our blog. But the honest truth is that cigalikes don't suit every smoker, switching doesn't always work first time, and there are days when the right answer is "this isn't for you, try something else."

We've been selling the same product to the same kind of customer since 2006. We'd rather you switched successfully — even if that means switching to something we don't sell — than be the company that talked you into something that didn't work.

What to actually expect in the first week

Most people are surprised by how different it feels.

A cigarette delivers nicotine fast. The hit reaches your brain in roughly ten seconds. An e-cigarette is slower. Nicotine still gets there, but the curve is gentler, and the peak is lower. For some smokers, that's fine straight away. For others, it feels like something is missing.

That something is usually a combination of three things: the nicotine peak, the throat hit, and the ritual.

The nicotine peak you adjust to over a few days. Your body recalibrates. The cravings you used to satisfy with one quick draw on a cigarette become cravings that take a few minutes of vaping to settle. This is normal and it does pass.

The throat hit is the rough sensation at the back of your throat when you inhale. It's a big part of what smokers actually miss when they switch. Cigalikes are designed to deliver a stronger throat hit than most other e-cigarette formats, which is one of the reasons we make them. If your previous attempt to switch was on a pod system or a mod and it felt "too smooth" or "like nothing," the throat hit is probably what you were missing.

The ritual is the hardest part for some people and the easiest for others. The shape of a cigarette in your hand. The lighter. The pause. Cigalikes are shaped like cigarettes deliberately, because for some smokers that physical familiarity matters more than anything else. For others it doesn't matter at all — they'd be happy with a pod if the nicotine delivery worked.

You won't know which kind of smoker you are until you've tried.

Throat hit, and why most people don't talk about it

If you've tried vaping before and it didn't work, throat hit is probably why.

A cigarette gives you a sharp, slightly harsh feeling at the back of the throat. You stop noticing it after years of smoking, but your body has come to associate that feeling with nicotine. When you switch to a vape that doesn't deliver it, your brain registers "no nicotine" even when there's nicotine in your system. The cravings don't go.

This is why low-nicotine vapes, very smooth pod systems, and most disposables (back when they existed) often failed people who'd been smoking for a long time. They were technically delivering nicotine, but they didn't feel like they were delivering nicotine.

Cigalikes deliver a stronger, more cigarette-like throat hit than pods or mods. That's by design. It's also why some non-smokers find them harsh — they're not made for non-smokers.

If you're considering switching and you've smoked for a long time, this is the single most important thing to look for in an e-cigarette: does it actually feel like it's doing something. If it doesn't, it won't work, no matter what the label says.

Why cigalikes feel different from pods and mods

This is worth understanding before you choose anything, because the format matters more than most people realise.

A cigalike is small, cigarette-shaped, simple. You don't fill it with liquid yourself — it uses prefilled cartridges that screw onto a battery. You charge the battery, you change the cartridge when it runs out. There are no buttons, no settings, no tank to leak. It's the closest thing in vaping to the simplicity of a cigarette.

A pod system is a step up in size and complexity. The pod holds more liquid, lasts longer, but the device is bigger, the draw is usually smoother, and the throat hit is often gentler. Pod systems suit users who don't mind a bigger device and who don't need the cigarette-like feel.

A mod is bigger again, with adjustable wattage, refillable tanks, and a learning curve. Mods suit gadget enthusiasts. They are not, in our view, what most smokers need.

Disposables — single-use vapes — were banned in the UK on 1 June 2025, so they're no longer a relevant option. If you tried switching during the disposable era and it didn't stick, that's worth knowing: many disposables had inconsistent nicotine delivery and weak throat hit, which is exactly the combination that fails long-time smokers.

If the first try doesn't work

Most people who successfully switch don't do it on the first attempt. This is not a failing on your part. It's a fitting problem.

If your first try didn't stick, ask yourself which of these happened.

You went back to cigarettes within a few days. Usually a throat hit problem. The vape wasn't giving you the physical sensation your body had come to associate with nicotine, so the cravings didn't settle. Try a format that delivers a stronger throat hit — a cigalike, or a higher-strength pod.

You vaped for a few weeks then drifted back. Usually a satisfaction problem. The vape was doing the job in theory, but it wasn't quite enough. Worth checking the nicotine strength — UK law caps e-liquid at 20mg/ml, and many smokers do better at the upper end of that, particularly in the first few weeks.

You vaped happily for months and then went back. Usually a stress or circumstance trigger, not a product failure. Going back to cigarettes is something most people who switch do at least once. It's not the end of the road. Many people settle into vaping properly on their second or third sustained attempt.

You found vaping unpleasant from the start. Some people genuinely don't get on with it. That's fine. Vaping isn't the only alternative to smoking, and it's worth knowing other options exist — nicotine pouches, nicotine replacement therapy, and the stop-smoking services your GP can refer you to. None of these are competition to us. We'd rather you found what worked than be the company that told you it had to be us.

When to persist, and when to try something different

Persist when:

The format feels close but not quite right. A different strength or a different cartridge can make the difference. It's been less than two weeks — your body is still recalibrating. You're catching yourself smoking less but not zero. That's progress, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Try something different when:

You've genuinely given a format two or three weeks and it isn't satisfying you. You realise you miss the cigarette feel and you're on a pod or a mod — try a cigalike. You realise you don't miss the cigarette feel at all and you're on a cigalike — a pod might suit you better.

The wrong answer here is the one most people fall into: trying once, deciding "vaping isn't for me," and not realising they tried the wrong format. Format is the variable that matters most. Most smokers who've "tried vaping and it didn't work" tried one format and judged the entire category on that.

A note from us

We've been doing this for nearly twenty years. We've seen the disposable boom, the pod takeover, every flavour craze the industry has invented to chase non-smokers, and now the regulatory crackdown that's wiping a lot of those products off the shelves.

We've stuck to cigalikes the whole time, in tobacco and menthol only, because that's what works for the customers we sell to: adult smokers who want an alternative that looks, feels, and works like a cigarette.

If that sounds like you, we're probably the right company to buy from. If it doesn't, we hope this guide is still useful, and we hope whatever you choose works for you.