Being around vapers/smokers

[amm246]

Hello! I quit vaping 4 days ago after doing it for about 3 years. Some of my friends and family members vape/smoke. I’m worried about being around then because they might offer me a hit or I might ask them without even thinking about it. How did you guys deal with these situations?

[marciem]

Ok I have what is probably a silly question.  I'm not around vapers much, and when I have been, I really hadn't noticed them vaping... whatever they were using had a minimum of smoke/vapor released when they exhaled (unlike some of the pictures I see and some people I see driving, with huge clouds around them).

So my question is... is there a lot of odor to the vapor that triggers a craving ? (as there is with cigarettes, the first few weeks for me were difficult when I was close to smokers, it smelled like something I thought I wanted... even a block away!  I wanted to track them down and lick the nicotine off their lips!   )  Is that one of the factors that makes being around vapers difficult in the beginning of a quit?

[YoungAtHeart]

I should let a vaper answer this - but I will chime in while Exvape‌ gets my mention.  I think a major problem with giving up vaping is more the ability to do it anywhere, anytime.  There is no stigma attached to it like there was with smoking, and their clothing, etc. doesn't give them away.  They can scoot in a bathroom and take a puff, or just around a corner, or even in the back of a bus without getting "caught," so they tend (I believe) to go at it ALL the time...making the triggers and associations that much harder from which to separate.

I will let Exvape chime in here!

Nancy

[marciem]

Thanks Ellen   .  In my thought processes, I've realized how much harder it would be overall to quit vaping, for all those reasons you give.  I was just wondering about if there was a smell trigger, which was so difficult for me as a new cigarette quitter...I liked the smell of a freshly going cigarette, and wondered if there were smells that factored into difficulty being around vapers when quitting vaping.  I asked it here since this thread specifically addresses difficulty being around other vapers

[mypalbiscuit]

I know what you mean about the smell of cigarettes- they still smell amazing to me. As for vaping, it’s not the smell that I find appealing- there’s a crackling sound it makes that I used to love. Also seeing people enjoying something I can’t have can bug me when I’m really wanting it. I just try to not pay attention.

[marciem]

Thanks, mypalbiscuit !  That pretty much answers my question.

As far as "seeing them enjoying something I can't have"... try to change your thought to "They don't want to (or get to) vape, they HAVE to vape... and I don't !  "  Turn it to a positive.   You're no longer enslaved and don't have to do that anymore.  Sometimes we have to train (or re-train) our thoughts, its all part of the process.