TFN vs. Synthetic Nicotine [What Is the Difference?]

According to several sources, the use of synthetic nicotine in mass-market products has been considered since the 1960s. This means the idea of using synthetic nicotine instead of natural nicotine is far from novel, although the execution is relatively modern. The question is, why?

At the time, efforts to launch synthetic nicotine products were abandoned due to high costs and the lack of technology needed to guarantee the purity of the final product. Today that technology exists, and recent regulatory changes, specifically in the vape industry, have fueled the fire once again, motivating manufacturers and brands to fill the market with synthetic nicotine vape juice.

Most synthetic nicotine vape products are made using a synthesized version of the same stereoisomer (S-nicotine) found in natural tobacco, making its effects incredibly similar to tobacco-derived nicotine.

At the moment, regulations are designed so that the FDA has direct control over tobacco-derived nicotine. This includes any electronic cigarette products made with tobacco. But currently, the power of the FDA does not entirely extend to electronic devices made using synthetic nicotine. How far the power of the FDA covers synthetic nicotine products remains unclear and the substance has put the regulating agency in an uncomfortable position.

Perhaps the first example of a company using synthetic nicotine instead of tobacco nicotine is one of our best-selling brands, Puff Bar. which can be found at an extremely affordable wholesale price on the VapeRanger website.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. What Is Synthetic Nicotine?
2. What Is Tobacco Free Nicotine?
3. How Is Tobacco Free Nicotine Made?
4. What Are the Potential Benefits of Tobacco Free Nicotine?

What Is Synthetic Nicotine?

Nicotine is a chiral molecule composed of two non-superimposable mirror images: S-nicotine and R-nicotine. 

S-nicotine is the stereoisomer mainly found in tobacco leaves. In the 1960s, when the first idea to use synthetic nicotine on market product launches was conceived, the product was made from a 50/50 mixture of S-nicotine and R-nicotine, making tobacco-derived nicotine much safer and more economically efficient than the synthetic nicotine manufacturers had access to at the time.

A way to make higher purity synthetic nicotine consisting mostly of S-nicotine was later discovered as technology and knowledge in the nicotine industry evolved. This is the process that manufacturers use today to make some of the industry’s most popular TFN vape products that are found on the VapeRanger website at unbelievable wholesale prices.

What Is Tobacco Free Nicotine?

Tobacco Free Nicotine (TFN) is the commercial name given to synthetic nicotine products within the vaping industry, like those found in the TFN lineup on the VapeRanger website. 

You can also find lists of our top 10 synthetic nicotine vape juices and top 10 synthetic nicotine disposable vapes in case you were looking for the best of the best for your vape shop.

How Is Tobacco Free Nicotine Made?

There is barely any information online about how synthetic nicotine is made. The most we found online are mentions of a patented process and some mentions of a second process that uses dried areca fruit to produce a nicotine substitute. Other than that, information on the detailed process is quite rare.

What Are the Potential Benefits of Tobacco Free Nicotine?

There is much more research to be done before conclusive benefits can be claimed. But common motives used by manufacturers to market synthetic nicotine vs tobacco nicotine include mentions of a purer product devoid of kerosene residue, a tasteless and odorless substance, and a similar biological impact as tobacco-derived nicotine.

This, combined with the manufacturing and distribution advantages of TFN, has prompted a takeover of synthetic nicotine vape products on the market from brands like Air Factory, Aqua Vape, Cloud Nurdz, Glas, Moo e-Liquids, BluBar, Cali Bar, Pachamama, Dinner Lady, and Puff Bar.

Conclusion

Synthetic nicotine is a synthesized version of nicotine that is not extracted from tobacco leaves. It is often referred to as tobacco free nicotine (TFN), especially in the vaping industry where TFN products have claimed an important fraction of the market. Making synthetic nicotine vape products is a patented process that is not easy to understand or find detailed steps online and one that is mainly handled by specific manufacturers. 

An array of potential benefits have been attributed to synthetic nicotine. These benefits include a milder taste, higher purity, and a similar impact as tobacco-derived nicotine.