I'm going to quit vaping

[Vapeaddict]

Anyone else trying/kicked the habit? Please send any words of wisdom, tips, tricks or even just a reminder that it's gross and I really need to do this!

I've been vaping for about 6 years now and I'm desperate to stop. My DC hate it and it's a bit embarrassing when out and about. It doesn't actually cost me that much (refillable vape, parts are inexpensive) so I can't go for a financial incentive but there are dozens of other reasons to stop.

There's never really been a 'good time' and now is no exception, apart from DH has packed in this week so a) he won't tempt me and b) I feel really bad making it more difficult for him!

I've bought patches and some lozenge type things and have been mindfully cutting down this week. Do I just go for it tomorrow?!

Well done OP. I have also quit vaping and am not much further ahead.... I last vaped on 21 May.

I smoked for years and vaping helped me quite smoking but I have found it much harder to quit vaping because I was doing it constantly.... I vaped far more than I ever smoked.

I'm ashamed to say that I told DH I was quitting vaping a year ago which I was and he was really proud of me. I managed to stop for two weeks and then stupidly started again but never told him I'd re-started because I knew he'd be disappointed. So for the past year I have hidden it from him and snuck off to vape in the bathroom or go for a drive just so I could vape in the car. I was absolutely sick of it and it made me feel really ashamed. I'm nearly 40 and just thought enough was enough. I also used disposable vapes so the ban on them has helped me.

I'm past the two week mark now and am feeling really good. It doesn't consume my thoughts and I feel far more free and much better in general. I had a very strong craving last night when I was out with friends for drinks and could easily have caved in but told them I was having a craving and they distracted me and the feeling passed. I am using mints and deep breathing if I feel I need them but that is far less now than it was a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully it continues to become easier and easier.

Well done @Lovelynames123 I hope you're saving the money to treat yourself! I can well believe it's harder in many ways to stop vaping- although it's becoming less socially acceptable, it's still not looked on like smoking is yet and all too easy to do it inside (in your own home at least). It's the constant nature of it, I think someone else said there's no "natural end" like there is with a cigarette so you just keep going.

Ah @GameOfJones I'm glad you've managed to stop again, it must have been difficult for you to hide it. A big part of the reason I haven't told DC/anyone yet was I was worried I wouldn't manage it and would have to hide it if I restarted. Two weeks is amazing, and a real big plus that you managed to resist the craving on your night out. Your friends sound lovely and supportive!

Today has been really up and down- at times I've been absolutely fine and not even bothered, but at others I could've chewed off my own arm I was craving so badly. Back to work tomorrow so maybe that'll help with distraction!

Yesterday was much like Sunday, ups and downs. Work was harder than I thought- I wasn't as distracted as I'd have liked and ended up with a pen in my mouth most of the day.

Today has been better so far, but I'm eating a lot, more than usual anyway. Actually having breakfast, lunch and dinner which isn't something I usually do. My jeans are feeling a bit snug already 👎

DH hasn't managed to stay off it, he's going to try the medication from the GP that a pp mentioned. I'm not close to caving, I'm just finding it tricky at times. Not sure when, or even if, to tell anyone. I'm so surprised DC haven't noticed, they used to moan about me nipping outside so often!

How are others doing, did you have your first day @sciaticafanatica?

Well done @Vapeaddict . I'm still going ok although tomorrow will be a big test as I'm out for drinks with a friend that vapes. I'm thinking of how proud I'll be if I make it through the evening without caving.

Thanks @GameOfJones and you too, does the friend know you've stopped? Hopefully they're supportive! I haven't been as tempted as I thought I'd be when others around me are vaping- it's when I'm alone and, in theory, could do it in secret that I struggle!

I have managed so far… it’s 4 till 5 in the afternoon that’s my hardest time.
i don’t vape at work, don’t even take it with me but look forward to it when I get home.
so that’s my bad hour

Well done @Vapeaddict @GameOfJones and @sciaticafanatica I had a challenging day on Sunday, Im not sure why, but got through it with a nic patch and gritted teeth. I think it was mental more than physical. I’m now day 8 and I’m starting to feel much more energised, and I’m thinking about it less and less. Hoping by the end of the week I’ll really start to forget about it! The cravings are barely there now, but that is with a patch. I’m happy to stay on the patches for another couple of weeks if needs be. So glad to hear you’re all keeping going.

Amazing @sciaticafanatica well done! It's good that you've identified your danger times.. mine is definitely first thing in a morning and after lunch. I was trying to think of a strategy to distract/deal with it- could you go for a quick walk or have a shower or take a brew outside to wind down? I've been getting straight out of bed and downstairs, and forcing myself out after lunch. I couldn't do that today as had meetings so made a peppermint tea and carried on. What flavour did you vape? I was mint so anything minty helps a little.

Can relate to sticking a patch on and gritting teeth @FiDawlishW I really hope it eases soon, day 8 is brill! Today is day 6 for me. Glad you've mentioned about the patches- will you taper them down to lower strengths? I got 2 weeks worth of full strength, the pack says do each for a month but I might try going down a level if things feel manageable. Looking forward to this energy kicking in...

@Vapeaddict would it help to know that nicotine is not, as routinely quoted by the (ahem) tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, madly addictive? It's not actually physically addictive at all - that's why there's no warning on the packet to "only quit under medical supervision" or inpatient clinics catering for people withdrawing from nicotine.

Yes, it's psychologically addictive due to the association with social acceptance (when you started) and perceived stress relief but ask yourself this question "Is there any circumstance or situation which will be improved by inhaling a noxious substance?"

@sciaticafanatica agree that coming home at the end of the day (and being starving) is a deadly time. We 'reward' ourselves with vaping, smoking, alcohol etc, and also turn to it when hungry or bored. My hardest time was having given up and then being stuck waiting for a train for an hour on my fifth day. I think I ate about half a bag of mints.

Could you have a meal ready to go when you get in? It's not hard to see why we turn to snacking when giving up, I barely touched a biscuit when I vaped.

Day 6 @Vapeaddict great stuff!! I’ve been using the 14mg patches all the time and I’m going to try to just stop using patches altogether in a week or so, depending on how I’m feeling. I’ve been removing the patches before bed as they were giving me the craziest of dreams! I don’t think tapering is a bad idea, I may join you and try that if stopping altogether proves too much.

I think it does help to think of it like that @Eyesopenwideawake I should probably read around that a bit more as I thought it was very addictive! I imagine the patches are a bit of a comfort blanket/psychological reassurance for me, but that goes the other way too ie worrying about coming off them. I'll look into that more!

@AInightingale same, still loved a bit of chocolate but I found it easy to say no to snacks and food "treats" before. I think nicotine is supposed to be an appetite suppressant and has a small impact on metabolism- though I'll need to check that too after learning it's not madly addictive! I have gained a little weight this week 😳 but trying to make better choices now I'm getting a handle on the cravings.

Yeah I've been taking them off before bed too @FiDawlishW and am sleeping remarkably well, which is a miracle compared to previous insomniac ways. I've also noticed my taste is changing- my previous favourite yoghurt tastes horribly sweet now?! Tapering seems like a sensible idea to me, if I rushed it and caved I'd be so annoyed with myself.

Feeling less out of breath on the school run but got a constant headache. Anyone else noticed anything?

Happy Saturday, how's it going @sciaticafanatica and @FiDawlishW and any other quitters?
Going alright here, it's becoming more 'normal' but I do still miss it a bit. I hope that fades in time!
I got a pack of clear patches and they're irritating my skin a bit so I'm going to taper down with the "skin coloured" ones.
Plan to keep busy this weekend and get some more mints 😅

Defo remove any sense of shame from it. I feel really strongly that shame is a barrier to learning and progress. Think of vaping as a massive marketing ploy/ con to make money out of you, and a huge lie. Nicotine is genuinely out of your system in something like 48 hours so everything after that is psychosomatic / habit / mind tricks.

You have 2 basic options which are cutting down or cold turkey. Both can work. My friend quit with patches over 6 months. I quit cold turkey but I had been trying for around 12 years.

Things that helped were setting myself an age related deadline. I didn't want to smoke after aged 30 because I didn't want to be an older smoker as it was uncool, smelly and for health reasons.

Things that helped were reading and learning about health risks, reading the Alan Carr book - that really made me believe I COULD, using a wall calendar where I ticked off every day.

I learned pretty fast that I could get to 2 weeks. Then I'd think oh I will have one as a reward and it was back to square one. So I set myself the goal of getting to 6 weeks as then I knew I'd be past all the social tests and temptations. Every time I had one I had to start my 6 weeks again. In the end it was will power as I was so fucked off and bored with having to start my 6 weeks over and over. I just wanted to carry on with those ticks!

Get lots of lovely snacky foods in - celery sticks, grapes, bread sticks, cubes of cheese, anything small you can use to beat a craving. Distraction is great. A craving will pass in 5-7 minutes. Pick a time when there aren't many stressful events or social events on the horizon. Avoid triggers and have a plan for those and for the times that you normally vape. Where will you be, what will you do instead.

Start small, if you can do 1 min without a vape it's just rinse and repeat until those minutes become an hour become a day become a week become a month. Before long you don't think about it.

Going fine here! I have to say it's getting easier and easier so there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I told my friend the other night that I'd quit vaping. She's my "danger friend" in that when I'd quit smoking she'd offer me one on a night out and I ended up smoking socially and then it's a slippery slope back. I think deep down she doesn't want to be the only one left smoking/vaping. But anyway, it was completely fine and I did have some cravings when she was vaping in front of me but I ignored them and they passed.

Day to day I'm really thinking about it less which is great. I used to go out on my lunch break to sit in my car and vape at work and it didn't even cross my mind the past couple of days. I took my book into work instead and sat outside and read in the sunshine.

Mints really helped me at first (I vaped mint flavour too as I'd smoked menthols before that) but I'm needing them less and less as well. I have a nicorette inhaler that I haven't touched since the first week or so.

I'm over 3 weeks in now, next week I'll have quit for a month!

Stay hydrated, lots of electrolytes, foods like Iceberg, Cucumber, apples etc will help headaches. Romaine/cos lettuce is good as it has mild relaxing effects.

I think main thing with patches is wierd dreams as you come off them but other than that it was fine for my friend. Well done op.

Still staying with it but ….. honestly had to keep moving yesterday as whenever I sat down, I wanted to vape!

It’s going well. Will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I stopped and this weekend has been a real test. I was at a college reunion yesterday and there was a fair bit of alcohol consumption. I did have cravings but just accepted them knowing I’m not going to give in. That’s another big hurdle out of the way which gives me more confidence. I didn’t have any patches this weekend but used nicotine gum instead. @Vapeaddict those clear nicotine patches have really irritated my skin too! The skin colour ones don’t either! Glad to know everyone’s doing well!!

Thanks for the tips @BlueSkiesInJuly I've been rubbish at hydration and my crunchy snacks have mostly been crisps! No wonder my head is thumping. I don't think the humid weather is helping either but I'll make more effort.

Amazing job @GameOfJones a month! The mints are definitely helping me, I couldn't face forking out for a nicorette inhaler and in my head it just seemed like a medical vape but glad it helped you!

Well done too @sciaticafanatica I've had some edgy moments too- my kitchen is sparkling as I tend to turn to scrubbing a cupboard or something when it's really bad. Win win!

Glad you survived the challenges of the weekend @FiDawlishW drinking doesn't trigger me like I thought it would, mostly because it often made me feel a bit sick if I vaped too much on top of the alcohol but I'm still finding mornings difficult.

I'm nearly at a fortnight now too and went through all my usual stash spots and binned anything vape-related today, it felt good! I'm not having the "lost"/missing feeling really any more but stressy mornings are the hardest part. I got the next stage of patches to move down to on Thursday, hopefully I don't even notice a difference but we'll see.

Hope you're all still doing well?!
Two weeks today for me 🥳
I have gained weight that I'm not happy about so joined a weight loss thread and made a start today. I was adamant I didn't want to stop the vape and replace it with an inhaler/pouches/gum or whatever so I can't replace it with sugar like I have been, it's nearly as bad. Cravings for both today have been present but manageable!

I got nicorette clear patches (stage 2) and they haven't irritated my skin like the others too.

Can I join ☺️ I smoked years ago then stupidly took it up again in a period of poor mental health, managed to pack that in and start using disposable vapes which was another dodgy decision as I vape far more than I ever smoked because it’s easier to get away with 😂 I have bought one of those fake vapes with a mint filter as I have AUHD and I think a lot of it is the act of hand to mouth with me

How are you doing OP? I’m planning on quitting tomorrow. Vape use has escalated significantly over the last few months.

@Vapeaddict, I would also desperately like to quit. Recently I quit for over 2 months and was so proud of myself, and then STUPIDLY bought one on a whim about 3 weeks ago and instantly back to where I started. What are some of the best tips for resisting the temptation to stop at a shop and buy one? I think it will be much easier if I can just power through the first couple of days. Help!

Sorry @Dominoeffecter missed your post, have you taken the plunge? I kept seeing those fake vape things on tiktok, I imagine it really helps at first! The hand to mouth was tough to break.

Going well thank you @user1492122750 I'm three weeks today! I honestly don't even think about it that much any more. At the weekend I actually forgot to stick a patch on and it got to lunchtime before I realised so I decided to pack those in as well. I've been a little snappy but I'm ill as well so that doesn't help! Good luck for today 👌

@realsavagelike argh over two months! You must have been so far past the worst of it- I can imagine saying to myself "one won't hurt" in that scenario too. I'd probably say just do not stop at a shop full stop for the first few days? My first thought was give yourself permission to buy anything except vape but that's how I've gained half a stone 😂

Don’t beat yourself up @realsavagelikewe’re all only human. You’ve got this, you’ve done it before and you can definitely do it again.

Day one here, got a nicotine patch on which is definitely taking the edge off. And I’m quite busy the next few days which is helpful.