Shortfills. What are they?

Shortly after May 2017 a dominant new trend emerged in the UK and European vape scene. ‘Short Fill’ e-liquids, as they would later become widely known as.

At the time it was a brand new, strange and unusual concept within the e-cig industry. It gained popularity almost immediately as vapers and vape shops embraced this radical, innovative new idea.

The popularity of this type of e-juice has grown to the extent that it is the most prevalent type of bottle now seen in vape shops

So, What Is A Short Fill?

A short-fill e-liquid is a bottle of vape juice which has no nicotine. It has all the other ingredients that you would normally find in a juice bottle: PG (Propylene Glycol), VG (Vegetable Glycerin) and flavouring. It is purposefully made without nicotine.

Size of bottles currently available on the market are 25ml, 50ml, 80ml, 100ml and 200ml (amount of e-liquid in the bottle without nicotine). The most popular sizes so far have been 50ml and 100ml.

Space is left in the bottle, it is not entirely filled, for nicotine to be added. Hence the phrase ‘Short Fill’.

The phrase is not one which existed initially and it is not an official term. It just seems to be a phrase which was coined and summed up the concept quite succinctly. It has subsequently become widely used and accepted and become another piece of jargon in the ever expanding vapers’ vocabulary.

How Did This Strange Situation Come About?: The Impact Of TPD

The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) or European Tobacco Products Directive (EUTPD) had a huge impact on the e-cig industry in the UK and across the EU. TPD had a number of stipulations. The most significant and dramatic changes that would affect everday vapers was:

● MAXIMUM SIZE OF E-LIQUID BOTTLE 10ML

● MAXIMUM SIZE OF VAPE TANK 2ML

● HIGHEST NICOTINE STRENGTH 20MG