Any tips for kicking a 1+ year JUUL addiction?

[nineblue]

Hi all,

I am new to the community and am reaching out for support on the beginning my journey to kick a JUUL addiction.

I purchased my first JUUL January of 2018 after a friend convinced me that they had significantly less nicotine in them than a pack of cigarettes. "They're harmless, really," I remember her saying in the car as we pulled up to the smoke shop. I had it for a week or so, and then decided that it was a mistake to buy one and that I had no business in purchasing one as someone who never smoked cigarettes. I got rid of it and was fine for a few months.

April of 2018 rolls around and I buy another one after using my friend's device at a night out drinking. I convinced myself that I would use it only during a night out, and that since I didn't get addicted before, I would not get addicted now. Little did I know, that couldn't be further from the truth. I began hitting it in the morning with coffee, in between classes, after meals, and in bed after a long day. I was smoking nearly a pod a day and spending around 40$ a week on pods. After 6 months of JUULing, I decided to switch to the Sourin, a refillable vaping device. While this did save  money, I still found myself enslaved to nicotine. I decided on New Years Day 2019 that I would quit for good. I threw my device down the garbage chute and was nicotine free for a few days. My boyfriend still had (and does) JUUL so I would hit his when we hung out, but did not have one of my own. My roommates JUULed and I would hit theirs whenever I had the chance. Although I didn't own a device anymore, I was still finding ways to get nicotine.

Fast forward to March of this year, I end up caving and buying a device, telling myself that "graduation will be the day I quit." I am set to begin graduate school in the Fall, and here we are, almost July... still fighting this damn JUUL addiction. It is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when falling asleep. I am used to hitting it when I wake up, after meals, while driving, and especially in social situations since many of my friends still JUUL. It's been about 6 hours since my last hit, and I am determined for that to be my last.

I have my reasons to quit: saving money, feeling more energized (I have noticed how fatigued the JUULing makes me feel), not having the distraction of constantly thinking about my next hit, and just not having a chemical dependency. It has just been so much harder that I ever thought it would be and had I known it would be this difficult.. I wouldn't have ever gotten involved in the first place. If anyone has any advice to share on kicking a vaping addiction (or just a nicotine addiction in general) please do share.

[AnnetteMM]

You're addicted to nicotine.  The delivery method doesn't matter (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes, etc.)

Juul is very addictive and it's so easy to talk yourself into it.  I know, I did it!  The good news is that quitting is the exact same for Juul as it is for cigarettes.

Have a plan for the first few weeks of withdrawal and cravings.  Read on here for tips.  I used Tootsie Pops and Twizzlers.

Throw out all the stuff again.

Tell yourself over and over that you don't do that anymore.

Stick around and read everything here that you can!

[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 "Juul."   You might switch to an e-cig as you work to reduce the amount of nicotine you are getting .Start with a lesser amount in, like, one in every four pods 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

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site! The support here is great! Addiction to nicotine is the same I would think - no matter what the device. I really loved the Carr book Nancy mentioned....plus I read lots of blogs here. You are in the right place - please stick around! 

[elvan]

Welcome to EX, I am so sorry that you are, like us, another addict.  I never used JUUL or any other device..."just cigarettes"...I tried to quit over and over and over again and until I found this site and read everything I could find about nicotine addiction, read blogs, asked for advice and listened...I came here every morning and every evening, I have over five years of freedom now and I still try to come  here every day to read, to comment, to remind myself of what a miserable addiction this is.  My last piece of advice is to COMMIT to your QUIT...don't use that thing or any other, No Matter What!  You can do this, have a plan,  use the mantra I used that came from here...NOPE, Not One Puff Ever.  Addiction is miserable but recovery is amazing!

Ellen

[DonnaMarie]

elvan wrote:

..................Addiction is miserable but recovery is amazing!

Ellen

Make this your mantra for a while. It's so true.

Donna

Day 191

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex.  Like others have already said it's still nicotine, so what the Ex has to offer in support will work just as well for JUUL.  Pick a quit date (soon), educate yourself about nicotine addiction and prepare for your quit.   All the links Nancy provided will get you started on this journey.  I would get started on your quit before graduate school. It will end up being another "excuse" to deal with the stress (even though in fact it causes more stress).   We're here to support you and be there through the rough times.   Just reach out if you help.

Barb

[intervention]

One of the advantages of vaping is that you can easily control the amount of nicotine....just not with the JUUL system. Try switching to a tank or pod device that allows you to put in your own e-liquid then cut down slowly (e.g. go from 12 to 6 to 3 to 0) and vape at 0 for while to make sure you are nicotine free. You then should have an easier time giving it up completely by following the many good suggestions you will find on this site. 

[Giulia]

I think your advice is great.  But just out of curiosity, are you vaping and if so with or without nicotine? 

[intervention]

Yes, and I use nicotine. It keeps me from relapsing back to a 38 year smoking addiction, and I suffer no ill effects. As a priest I don't drink or chase wild women, so like coffee it is a small pleasure I can enjoy with virtually no harm. As a smoking cessation counselor I support anyone who wants to quit smoking or vaping, either abstinence-based or with harm reduction.