What Does 5% Nicotine Mean? Percentages, mg/mL and What to Choose

5% nicotine means 50 milligrams of nicotine per millilitre of e-liquid. The percentage and the mg/mL figure are two ways of writing the same number, and the conversion is simply multiplying by ten: 5% is 50mg/mL, 3% is 30mg/mL, 2% is 20mg/mL.

That is the whole conversion. The rest of this page is what the number means in practice.

The conversion table

• 0.5% — 5mg/mL
• 1% — 10mg/mL
• 2% — 20mg/mL
• 3% — 30mg/mL
• 5% — 50mg/mL

To work out the total nicotine in a device, multiply mg/mL by the tank size. A 10ml device at 5% contains 500mg of nicotine in total.

Why 5% is on almost everything

Two reasons. It sits at the practical ceiling for consumer disposables in the US market, and nicotine salt chemistry made that strength tolerable to inhale — at 50mg/mL a traditional freebase liquid would be extremely harsh. Salts are what allowed high-strength disposables to exist at all, and the difference between salts and freebase is worth understanding if the number surprises you.

Is 5% right for you?

It is a high strength aimed at established nicotine users. Signs it is too strong include a scratchy throat, light-headedness, nausea or headache — all of which mean take fewer or shorter puffs, or move to a lower strength.

There is no benefit to a strength higher than you need. Nicotine is addictive, and a stronger liquid does not last longer — it just delivers more per puff.

Reading the box

Some manufacturers print the percentage, some print mg/mL, and some print both. If a product only shows one, you can always convert. Where a strength is stated on our product pages it comes straight from the manufacturer's own labelling.

Be sceptical of any device where the strength is unclear or absent altogether. That is one of the markers of a counterfeit — see how to spot a fake.

State restrictions

Some states cap nicotine strength or restrict flavoured products entirely. Our vape shipping by state guide covers where the restrictions apply.

Products sold by VIP Sales are for adults 21 and over. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.