Modified on: 24/05/2024
DISPOSABLE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES, ALSO CALLED “PUFF” OR “POD”, ARE ONE OF THE LATEST NEWS IN THE WORLD OF E-CIG, APPRECIATED FOR THE CONVENIENCE AND EASE OF USE.
IN THIS ARTICLE WE WILL FIND OUT HOW THE DISPOSABLE PUFF WORKS AND HOW TO REFILL IT: ABOVE ALL, WE WILL EXPLAIN WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID IT.
Convenient, small in size, disposable puffs are electronic cigarettes that do not need refills or maintenance: you buy them, use them and, once the liquid or battery has run out, throw them away in accordance with separate waste collection regulations.
Many people wonder whether it is possible to refill and reuse a “pod”, just like other e-cigarettes. Let us say straight away that, while it is technically possible to do so, we would advise against it for safety reasons.
How the disposable puff works
Disposable puffs are very easy to use: they are ready to use and do not require refilling, maintenance or adjustment.
The tank is pre-filled, usually with 2 ml of e-liquid flavours whose composition is similar to that of electronic cigarettes:
Propylene glycol (PG)
Concentrated flavors
Nicotine (optional)
The pre-installed heating element heats up and vaporizes the e-liquid, which can contain nicotine 20 (i.e. 2%, the amount of a packet of traditional cigarettes). On the market we find both free-base nicotine puffs and those with nicotine salts.
The puff, in short, works exactly like other electronic cigarettes. However, the duration is limited: usually, puffs with liquid nicotine guarantee 400 to 800 “puffs”, whereas puffs without nicotine can guarantee up to 1500 to 2000 puffs.
Read also: Cigarettes that do no harm: do they really exist?
How to refill the disposable puff
The disposable puff consists of a single block: the battery cannot be recharged and the tank cannot be refilled. However, there are several tutorials circulating on the web explaining how to refill the disposable electronic cigarette: let us look at the main steps, while at the same time urging you to avoid this certainly unsafe procedure.
Using a screwdriver or a pair of scissors, remove the cap from the bottom of the puff;
Take out the battery, a battery connected with red and blue wire to the device;
You can now insert the battery into a 3V battery charger and wait for it to be fully charged;
If you do not have a charger, you can use a phone USB cable;
With a pair of scissors, cut the cable, take out the copper wires, insert them into the terminals at either end of the battery and fix them with a bit of tape;
Connect the cable to the charger;
Wait until charging is complete and insert the battery into the puff;
If you disconnect the two wires at the end, be careful to reconnect them in the same position.
If the liquid has run out, remove the cap from the top of the puff and with the help of tweezers pull out the disc protecting the organic cotton, in which the e-cig liquid is contained. At this point, soak the cotton with your favorite liquid and reassemble the whole thing.
As you can see, this is an awkward, complex and risky procedure.
Why you should avoid refilling the disposable puff
Refilling disposable electronic cigarettes is a bad idea.
Puffs are built to be used until the end of recharging and then thrown away. They are not suitable devices for recharging. Opening the puff and proceeding with the recharging operation is wrong for several reasons: it is risky to handle the battery and it is quite easy to ruin the puff, perhaps by incorrectly connecting the wires. Furthermore, between scissors and screwdrivers, the risk of injury is serious.
On the market, there are many types of electronic cigarettes designed to be refilled in a few simple steps, without any difficulty and without any risk. Between MTL and DTL cigarettes, the choice is vast: why complicate your life with a procedure that can be dangerous and unnecessary?
For your safety, we recommend that you avoid the disposable puff refilling procedure. On the contrary, the pod can be useful for trying out the e-cigarette and finding out if it is right for you. If “vaping” satisfies you, then you can decide to switch to “traditional” e-cigs, with which you can choose different liquids and flavors to suit your taste.
Read also: Electronic cigarettes: the new public health challenge in England
In conclusion
Disposable puffs, with nicotine shots or not, can be useful in approaching the world of vaping without incurring the expense of a ‘traditional’ electronic cigarette.
Although several guides to refilling puffs are available on the net and on YouTube, we advise against following them: the procedure is complicated and presents considerable risks. Handling batteries such as puff batteries can be dangerous and it is not certain that the recharge will be successful.
Our advice is instead to use the puff to try ‘vaping’ and, if you are satisfied, buy one of the many rechargeable e-cig models.