If you've ever been criticized for vaping, you know what it feels like. As grown adults, it's pretty hard to take the righteous chastising coming from a mostly ignorant public. Aside from that, there are times when you just don’t want to go through explaining electronic cigarettes for the millionth time.

The answer is stealth vaping. The ninja vape.

First off, what exactly is stealth vaping? In a nutshell, stealth vaping is vaping in a way that no-one will notice you as you vape (unless you're being watched really closely). It's a relatively new concept that's just starting to take firm hold in vaping circles. There are arguments both ways about it, and it's a sure fact that once it hits mainstream, you can be 100% sure the anti-vape people will jump on it and try to further crucify vapers.

One of the questions being debated now, and will be in the future, is why you would stealth vape in the first place? This is a valid question because stealth vaping is all about vaping in places where you are not allowed to vape. It's the classical answer that us vapers don't want to draw attention to ourselves (no surprise there, what with all the negative connotations attached to vaping). After all, there are countless anti-vaping crusaders that think they can lecture us about our lifestyles. We have no problems with constructive criticism of course, but the overwhelming majority of these people are seriously misinformed - maybe that's why 66% of vapers believe stealth vaping is acceptable in certain situations.

The actual act of stealth vaping is quite simple. You need to have the right equipment, the right e-liquid and use the right technique when stealth vaping:

Stealth Vaping Equipment

Who doesn't love sub ohming? While you may love it, it's not good for stealth vaping because the name of the game is to not draw attention to yourself. What you need is a small kit that fits in the palm of your hand, preferably including the atomizer - think the iStick Mini, or Joyetech's 1100mAh eGo ONE. Rule of thumb: The smaller the device, the better cover (no sub ohming).

Choice of E-Liquid

Vape juice contains propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. Both can be used to stealth vape, but i's important to note both have different characteristics. While it's true vapers today are leaning more towards higher VG juice, it's better to use high PG liquids when stealth vaping because it produces less vapor (less chance of being detected). Pro tip: Use a higher nicotine level liquid to get the same throat hit you do on more powerful e-cigarettes. This will also deliver a better throat kick.

Vaping Techniques

First and foremost, inhale deep and hold the vapor in as long as you can before letting it out so that minimal vapor comes out from your lungs. For best results, inhale and remove the ecig away from your mouth first. Then, inhale air. After that, hold it in for 30-60 seconds before exhaling. The second technique is a mouth hit variant. You inhale first, then swallow the vapor. If you can, inhale once again, then exhale through the nose. It's a also a great idea to put your hand in front of your mouth or nose when exhaling for maximum cover.

You should know people have lost their jobs for vaping at work, and have even been put in jail for vaping on an airplane. Hopefully you can avoid such problems if you follow these techniques and apply common sense throughout while stealth vaping. Don't forget, stealth vaping is about getting your nicotine, not about showboating.