When e-cigarettes came out, many people assumed they were a safer alternative to the regular form of smoking cigarettes. Experts are not really sure where this idea came from. Maybe it was because the e-cigarette was “technology” and people assumed it was created to improve upon the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Maybe it was the fun flavors and the hype that created the popular misunderstanding¹Jankowski, Mateusz, et al. “Smoking Cessation and Vaping Cessation Attempts Among Cigarette Smokers and E-Cigarette Users in Central and Eastern Europe – PMC.” PubMed Central (PMC), 18 Dec. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6981418.. Whatever the reason, it has always been untrue. The effects of e-cigarettes, juuling, and vaping on the lungs and body are no better than the effects regular cigarettes have on the body.

Vaping rose to popularity between 2017-2018 and at that time it was still commonly understood or thought to be a safer practice. When experts heard that this was a common thought by the public, anti-vaping campaigns came out to give consumers the right idea —that vaping does have a negative impact on your body. All this is not to mention the fact that when people vape, they are often doing it more than those who smoke cigarettes. Juuling and vaping provide a convenience and ease that regular cigarettes do not offer. This makes them more prone to repeated use all throughout the day. Vaping becomes a hard-to-stop habit itself even outside of the addictive effects of nicotine.

When it became more common knowledge that vaping was harming bodies just like typical smoking, many people decided to stop. Many parents asked their teens to stop vaping as it was extremely popular amongst older teens and young adults. The negative effects vaping can have on your body are similar to those of cigarettes and so are the difficulties that arise with attempting to quit.

Quit Vaping Cold Turkey or Weaning?

If you are someone or you know someone that has developed a hard to quit vaping habit, there are effective ways to stop. The road isn’t always easy and it will take effort, but you can do it.

There are a couple of general methods or routes you can go when you decide to quit. You can either quit cold turkey or wean yourself off. One is not necessarily better or easier than the other, but both will be difficult and will take a lot of effort from you or the person attempting to quit vaping.

Quit Vaping Cold Turkey

If you decide that you want to quit vaping all at once, you can do that. But, you need to be firm and either choose to do it that day or set a permanent date that will be the day you start to quit vaping and do not look back.  If this is your route, you cannot make excuses and put off your quit date or time. You need to do it then. Be intentional.

With this method, you are taking away something that helped you cope or something you enjoyed throughout your day, every day. You are going to be feeling as though you are missing something. There are the addictive, physical side effects of nicotine, but vaping was also a habit itself.

You can replace that oral fixation after vaping with several things:

• candy
• gum
• toothpicks

Really anything that is safe to chew or suck on for a long period of time. This replacement can help get your mind off of missing the habit and you’ve finally quit vaping.

If you decide to quit vaping cold turkey and you feel as though you need assistance, there are rehabilitative programs that can help you out. Both inpatient or outpatient. Whatever you feel as though you’ll need, speak to a professional and decide what option is best for you if you do not want to go along the route alone.

Quit Vaping by Weaning

If you decide to wean off of your e-cigarettes, the process isn’t necessarily easier, just maybe slightly more manageable.

With this process, you will not quit vaping all at once. You will slowly and gradually decrease the amount of nicotine you consume at a time and in a day. The pods and juice come in different levels of nicotine, so every couple of weeks, you can buy a pod or juice with a lower level. And then lower the frequency that you have the Juul or vape available to yourself. Slowly decrease over time, so that eventually you reach a point where you do not have to pull out the vape at all.

Withdrawal Symptoms from Quitting Vaping

Vaping withdrawal is not as difficult as other drugs, but it is still not an easy thing to overcome.

Typical vaping withdrawal symptoms include:

• sleeping changes
• tremors/anxiety/depression
• irritability
• headaches
• increase appetite

If you are in a rehab facility, there are professionals who are there to help you through the symptoms.

If you are going the road outside of professional help, you may need some tips to quit vaping:

Make a firm plan. If you want to quit vaping cold turkey, plan out what you are going to do. If you want to wean off, write down your plan and doses the way you want to decrease them over time.

The first few days after your last use are the roughest. They will be hard, but keep in mind that those negative feelings will eventually be gone for good. Focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. You will eventually reach it.

Do not break your promise to yourself. If you decided you were going to quit vaping cold turkey, do not let yourself convince yourself that it is ok to have “just one”. If you decided to wean, do not let yourself convince yourself that it is ok to stick with a higher dose of nicotine for longer than you planned. Whatever your plan was at the beginning, stick to it.

Get rid of everything. Do not keep anything for memories. Throw away every single piece of vape equipment that you have.

Ask for help. If you have tried, but have been unsuccessful on your own, there is no shame in asking for help. People train specifically for this job. They are there to help you. Tell your family and friends what you are doing. This way, there is never any temptation around friends who still smoke, and your family can encourage you and hold you accountable on your journey.

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