Trying to quit vaping, needing some help

[Katkat4293]

does anyone have any good tips for quitting vaping? I started vaping to quit cigs, but now i've been vaping for 5 years and it really feels more difficult than quitting cigs because i can and do vape literally everywhere. there are a lot more places/triggers to associate with vaping than there ever were with cigs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[rannug]

Hey great question! I have the same problem and I’ve come up with 2 different plans for quitting.

The first one is gum. Nicotine gum should help satisfy your cravings while breaking the vaping habit and reducing withdrawal symptoms.

The other option that I believe would be more successful is to slowly reduce the nicotine in the vape until you get down to 0. I’m not sure what you vape, but for this method you would need to switch to something refillable. My plan is to fill a 10 ml bottle up with my usual vape juice and use that to refill my vape. Once I’ve filled a pod, I will top off the bottle with some nicotine free vape juice and repeat the process until there is no nicotine in the juice. This should make it easier to quit because you can still vape the same amount but you’re just reducing the concentration of nicotine. Plus, then if you have a craving after you quit vaping you can keep your vape around with nicotine free juice and use it to hopefully satisfy the occasional craving to vape without actually receiving any nicotine. 

I hope this was helpful and please let me know if you have any questions or need support. Quitting won’t be easy but we can do it!

[elvan]

You are not the first person to say that quitting vaping is even harder than quitting smoking.  It's something you did not have to leave an area to do and it did not leave a smell on your clothing or your hair.  It's really an insidious way to become addicted to nicotine, I think of all the KIDS using these devices and it makes me seriously angry.  Of course, I never expected to become addicted to nicotine either...I was 17 when I started smoking and I had countless lost quits.  It wasn't until it became crystal clear that I had to choose between smoking and breathing that the choice became crystal clear to me.  I had already done a great deal of damage to my lungs, to my skin, my teeth, God knows what else.  This addiction is very powerful but we are MORE powerful.  I would read everything you can about nicotine addiction and I would reach out like you just did and ask for support and finally, you need to make a commitment not to vape no matter what.  I will not tell you it is easy, that was not my experience but I WILL tell you that it is POSSIBLE.  Nicotine addiction is nicotine addiction, regardless of the method of administration so reading blogs about recovery will help you.  I am going to link two of my favorites here that were written by JonesCarpeDiem‌ /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months and https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6040-my-welcome-to-new-members-12-years-of-watching   I am hoping that YoungAtHeart‌ will be along soon to give you her official welcome.  In the meantime, read, read, and read some more.  Make it a point NOT to vape except in one area, preferably outside.

Welcome to EX.
Ellen

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Nicotine addiction is nicotine addiction - no matter the delivery device - and how to beat any of them is about the same. Every time you read :"cigarette" in the information I will give you, just sub "vape."  You got great advice above about reducing the nicotine content in the pods over time. You can also start with a lesser amount in, like, one in every four, then three, etc. until you are only using the smallest amount.  That way the physical withdrawal should be more manageable.

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!

 Nancy

[martinpriscilla]

My biggest trigger is smoking JUUL when I drink alcoholic beverages. Does anyone have tips that have worked during this trigger moment? 

[YoungAtHeart]

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but drinking alcohol is a known quit killer.  It affects your thinking and can get you to believe that "just one" puff won't hurt.  It will always - ALWAYS - lead to another and yet another until you are right back to where you started.  In the beginning of your quit, it is best to limit yourself to a maximum of one drink - over a period of time.  It really is best, though, not to drink at all until your quit is well in hand, and even then, moderation is key.

Sorry - but your quit needs to be your #1 priority for awhile.

Nancy

[JACKIE1-25-15]

If you have to vape if you drink alcohol, do not drink alcohol.  It takes time for the vulnerability of vaping to decrease due to alcohol.  It was 4 months before I touched a glass of wine and when I did I did not want the wine.  I still had to work my quit as if I had drunk a lot.  It is part of the association that has to be reprogrammed. It is best to abstain in the very beginning of a quit.  

[maryfreecig]

Quitting nicotine is hard. When I quit smoking, I felt that I was quitting cigarettes--not nicotine. But in fact the cigarettes were the delivery system for nicotine. But as a nicotine addict, I had come to see my rituals around smoking as the thing that felt good--but it was the addiction. Nicotine, in my opinion, is like a silent addiction--alchohol and other drugs often make a user feel really good even if it is for a short while. Nicotine--what a rip off!!! I'm not sure any smoker or vaper can say for sure why it feels good or right. The nicotine dependency clouded my judgement. But recovery is so doable. 

There are a lot of new vape quitters here, so you've landed in the right place for support. Please know that Ex will be here for you 365. Don't panic about quitting, just read, learn, blog, plan and craft your route to vapebriety one step at a time, one day at a time.

[JACKIE1-25-15]

A quick tip: Cut up straws, put in a pocket, suck on them instead of vaping.