Retail packaging is dense with numbers and symbols, most of which are never explained anywhere. Here is what the common ones on a Geek Bar box are telling you.
Capacity figures
You will usually see a millilitre figure — the volume of liquid in the device — and a mAh figure, which is the battery capacity. Larger numbers mean the unit lasts longer before it is finished or needs charging. They do not indicate strength or quality.
Puff counts
Many boxes carry a puff figure, sometimes two: one for each operating mode on devices that have modes. Treat these as a manufacturer estimate under their own test conditions, not a promise. How you actually draw on it changes the real number substantially.
Nicotine strength
Shown either as a percentage or in mg/mL. These describe the same thing: 5% and 50mg/mL are equivalent. Legal maximum strengths differ by country, which is why the same model can carry different figures in different markets.
Regulatory marks
- CE and UKCA — the unit was produced to European and UK conformity requirements.
- The crossed-out wheelie bin — do not put this in household waste. It means the device must go to electrical or battery recycling.
- A US nicotine warning panel — required on packaging for the United States market.
These marks are a useful signal of which market a unit was made for. A device carrying CE and UKCA was produced for the UK and EU; one carrying the US warning panel was produced for the United States.
Modes
Screen-equipped devices often list two puff figures because they run in two modes — typically a standard mode and a higher-output one that uses the liquid faster. The box lists both so the shorter figure is not a surprise.
What the box will not tell you
Flavour is subjective and the name on the front is marketing, not a specification. If you want to know how something actually tastes, ask someone who has had it — which is a large part of why we answer emails.