Vaping is likened a lot to smoking, although the general consensus is that vaporisers are a better alternative to lighting up combustible cigarettes, not to mention cheaper than smoking. The vapour and throat sensation aside, one other thing that has seen vaping emerge as the most effective way to ditch cigarettes is the hand-to-mouth action involved. Unlike tobacco cigarettes which involve a single inhalation technique, though, there are different methods of peeling the orange when it comes to vape devices. These inhalation techniques can be grouped into two categories:
- Mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping
- Direct-to-lung (DL) vaping
If you’re new to the industry, it can be confusing to hear these words bandied about, particularly so when they are used in reference of vape gear:
“What device is that – a mouth-to-lung vape or direct-to-lung vape?”, someone would query. “Huh?” In real sense, MTL and DL are just two types of inhaling techniques in vaping that can also be used to categorise vape devices. And they form the basis of our subject today.
How to Inhale Vape: Mouth-to-Lung Vs Direct-to-Lung Technique In mouth to lung, what you do is simply draw vapour into your mouth, hold it in for a few seconds, before inhaling into the lungs. Vaporisers designed for mouth-to-lung vaping characteristically have a tighter draw intended to simulate the draw of a regular cigarette. Compared to their direct-to-lung counterparts, MTL devices tend to use less power. These are the majority of devices you will find in the market, especially in the vape pen category. If you are getting into vaping in an attempt to quit smoking, you will be most at home with the mouth-to-lung inhalation style. This technique delivers better throat hit, so it’s easier to stave off that craving for cigarettes. MTL devices typically produce less vapour compared to DL vapes, which means this technique is subtler and allows you to vape more discretely. Direct-to-lung, on the other hand, is probably the inhaling style you’ve seen used in many vape ad posters. As the name suggests, this involves drawing vapour through your mouth and directly into the lungs. There is no momentary hold of vapour in the mouth, the reason you might sometimes find this method being referred to as a straight-to-lung inhale. DL vaping style is synonymous with huge cloud production, which is why most of the devices that allow for this style of vaping tend to be sub-ohm devices and the plethora of mods, from box mods to a select number of pod mods. Generally, devices that come with airflow control are more suited to this style as they allow you to adjust the airflow to achieve either an MTL or DL inhaling style. As mentioned, however, there are vaporisers specially built with this technique in mind.
How to Inhale Vape: Pros of Mouth-to-Lung Vaping Here are the advantages associated with MTL vaping:
- It is more effective when it comes to quitting smoking.
- MTL e-cigs use less e-liquid, in turn keeping your e-liquid spend in check.
- Since the technique relies on less battery power to heat e-liquid, the temperature of the vapour is lower.
- MTL vaping promises longer vape sessions and has better flavour concentration.
How to Inhale Vape: Cons of Mouth-to-Lung Vaping The downsides associated with MTL vaping include:
- Compared to direct-to-lung, MTL vaping is less intense and some users say it’s less appealing.
- With the growth of sub-ohm vaping, there is the argument that MTL is a bit passé, especially when you look at the superior tech on sub-ohm devices.
How to Inhale Vape: Pros of Direct-to-Lung While not initially as popular, DL vaping has seen an increased uptake recently. Here are some advantages associated with this inhaling technique:
- Since the e-liquid DL e-cigs use is more VG than PG (aka sub-ohm vape juice) this style is excellent for cloud production.
- As well, DL vaporisers make use of e-liquids with a lower nicotine concentration, so it’s easier to keep your nicotine intake in check.
- Advancements in technology have made this form of vaping much more appealing, though that is subjective.
How to Inhale Vape: Cons of Direct-to-Lung Technique The cons you should consider include:
- It is heavier on the pocket as you will be running through more bottles of e-liquid when you are sub-ohming.
- Flavours in DL are more muted since VG (vegetable glycerine) is not as good a carrier of flavour as PG (propylene glycol).
Read Vaping PG & VG
