Are Nicotine Percentages Accurate?

[Hojo]

Being relatively new to the hookah, I only really have two brands in my stash: Al Fakher and Fusion. After smoking my fair share of each brand, I have come to notice a definite difference in the buzz that each brand produces. I took a look at the boxes to find this:

AF: .05% Nicotine
Fusion: .3% Nicotine

The thing is, I can work up a pretty nice buzz from AF, though the buzz is becoming less and less prominent as I steadily build up a nicotine tolerance. Fusion, however, is a different story. I can hit Fusion like it owes me money, and still feel nothing at the end of the session. This is weird to me because, logically, Fusion has six times the nicotine of AF, but the buzz pales in comparison. Why is this? Does Fusion require more heat to really get going? Is it that infamous red dye that AF uses? Are both companies just bullshitting, and they have no idea how much nicotine is actually in their respective products?

It's not that buzz is terribly important to me, as I would rather have an outstanding flavor than a killer buzz, but it just struck me as odd that the "weaker" tobacco provides me with the stronger buzz. What are your thoughts?

[duckhater]

Being relatively new to the hookah, I only really have two brands in my stash: Al Fakher and Fusion. After smoking my fair share of each brand, I have come to notice a definite difference in the buzz that each brand produces. I took a look at the boxes to find this:

AF: .05% Nicotine
Fusion: .3% Nicotine

The thing is, I can work up a pretty nice buzz from AF, though the buzz is becoming less and less prominent as I steadily build up a nicotine tolerance. Fusion, however, is a different story. I can hit Fusion like it owes me money, and still feel nothing at the end of the session. This is weird to me because, logically, Fusion has six times the nicotine of AF, but the buzz pales in comparison. Why is this? Does Fusion require more heat to really get going? Is it that infamous red dye that AF uses? Are both companies just bullshitting, and they have no idea how much nicotine is actually in their respective products?

It's not that buzz is terribly important to me, as I would rather have an outstanding flavor than a killer buzz, but it just struck me as odd that the "weaker" tobacco provides me with the stronger buzz. What are your thoughts?

From what I hear on these forums, most are accurate, the difference is usually washed vs. unwashed shisha...AF or Tangiers Lucid vs. Nakhla or Reg. Tangiers. Unwashed is usually 0.5 and washed is 0.05.

[AzZ]

Thats true. I don't even get slightly buzzed from Fusion however I do sometimes with AF (not that often though).

[mushrat]

generally speaking, they are accurate....
perhaps not to the exact numbers supplied, but in the ball park.

[Bulldog_916]

I think it also has to do with how the tobacco was prepared before it was introduced to the glycerin/molasses/honey. If it was washed to an extent that most of the surface nicotine is gone, you probably wont buzz from it even if the content of the leaves is still relatively high. If there's still nicotine on the surface of the leaves and in the shisha, even if it's a low dose, you'll still buzz from it because it's mixing in the glycerin/molasses/honey. The nicotine vaporizes with the juices and you get the famous buzz. The type of tobacco probably makes a difference too. If it's middle eastern tobacco like AF, maybe it has a higher concentration of nicotine on the surface. If it's Virginia tobacco like Fusion, perhaps most of the nicotine is contained in the fibers of the leaves.

Just a thought.