20 years ago I quit smoking with chewing tobacco aka dip. That shit is WAY better than cigarettes. Dip was even harder to quit. Then I went back to off and on cigarettes for 18 years. I have not had one in a year and a half and have no intention or desire to ever start that shit up again. Welbutrin is also pretty helpful for this. My best friend did mostly quit by switching to vape though, so I think it can work. I'm pretty sure it's also just as bad for you though?
this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2024
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I quit not only because of vaping and tobacco-less nicotine pouches, but because I wanted it. If you are buying it for a family member, you can't make them quit... Hopefully they are wanting to, because you can't make that decision for them. Just like any other addict.
I agree with this sentiment. I vaped for years and years because I didn't actually want to stop.
But once I did make the decision the vape made it considerably easier.
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Nope. I smoked for over 30 years. Took up vaping to quit and all I did was vape more than I ever smoked.
For me, what worked was… I had to go back to smoking regular cigarettes, then use Wellbutrin as a smoking cessation. Took about a month and a half-
I’ve been smoke free for over two years.
Yes. It is a shame that vapes are disregarded as therapeutics. They are fantastic in that regard.
Not to say that the fruit flavoured garbage aimed at children is okay; it is not and should be dealt with. However, we should simultaneously not let the tobacco industry deter the medically valid use of vapes for use as an aid with smoking cessation
My son worked for vape wild. His favorite part was talking to people about how to use vapes and custom fluids to quit smoking. Then they had a huge investment from one of the cigarette companies and it all went downhill.
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I wish I could vape. This is gonna sound stupid, bc it is, but I’m a chronic asthmatic who has smoked for about 20 years now. Been intubated twice for asthma. And yet I still can’t put the damn cigarettes down. I’ve tried patches, gum, hypnotism, medication, you name it.
Vaping was the only thing that was helping when I switched but believe it or not, it was bothering me way more than a cigarette. Immediate throat scratchiness and shortness of breath. That doesn’t happen with smokes though. I’ve tried all sorts of vapes too. All with the same result.
Smoking is probably gonna be what takes me out and it sucks that I feel totally powerless. I will say though, that the book “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking” by Allen Carr got me off cigs for about 3 months. Then my grandpa died and it all spiraled back from there.
Apologies for what could well be a dumb suggestion: Herbal / nicotine free cigs exist. They might be an avenue of escape if you haven't tried that already.
Smoking isn't just the nicotine fix, it's the whole ritual of getting away and doing something else for a while. Scratching that itch might work.
Of course there are other ways to get away and do something else for a while, but those are for later.
Two things:
Cigarettes contain ingredients to suppress some of the negative symptoms of smoking. One reason you might have irritation without the cigarettes is because the cigarettes are preventing you from feeling the irritation they cause. Just a thought. It might make sense to see if you can get other medication to help with those issues until you are able to stop vaping too.
Also, hearing that the death of your grandpa caused a relapse suggests you might want to try quitting again, but with some sort of therapy/support. Try the book method again, but make sure you have someone to talk through issues with.
someone = yes
everyone = no
I did but it took me a long time, years and years, with occasional dips back into smoking.
Now though it's nearly been 2 years no vape or anything and at least three years of no nicotine.
I went up and down in nicotine levels, I used big huge cloud throwing fog machines and little tiny disposables.
I eventually settled on a unit with a built in rechargeable battery and pods with replaceable coils (geekvape aegis)
I don't think vaping will naturally result in quitting, it I do think it's the most effective harm reducer out there and as a tool has many ways to help reduce use over time.
High nicotine disposables (elf bars, juul) I would stay away from if you can though since the nicotine concentration is so high that it can deepen the addiction.
I did. Been a decade since I had a cigarette.
11 years without a cigarette, still vape though.
I got a few people around me who are trying to find a good reusable vape. Those seem to have disappeared which makes it harder to self regulate.
If anyone has a hood recommendation I am all ears.
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I personally know multiple people who did
Yeah pretty much everyone I know that picked up a vape
Vaping is safer than cigarettes, it's still bad and we don't know how bad it is long term but it is safer than smoking. It's better to just stop completely using a stop smoking service to get alternative nicotine products if that's available. If the person doesn't want to stop then you're unlikely to be able to make them however a vape might be able to replace it with something better. Other products to look at are patches, gum, lozenges and inhalators which can be useful in quitting.
In summary smoking and vaping are both bad but smoking is worse. Better off just quitting if possible, if not go for the vape.
I quit smoking cigarettes after moving to vape but vape isn't better for you so, it's just reading one for another.
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Vaped for about 7 years after quitting smoking. Switched to 0 nicotine vape fluid and then finally got tired of vaping and just sort of stopped.
Yep. I moved from smoking to vaping. It became a bit of a hobby but I quit that too after a few years just by lowering the nicotine bit by bit and ended up just not using it when the habit was no longer fuelled by addiction.
Most people I know that used to smoke now vape instead.
The main reason is not that vapes are great, but that cigarettes cost about £15 a pack.
If they want to quit it can be a useful tool that I have seen work for many. If they don't an e-cig isn't going to change anything.
To stop smoking I will smoke something else. A better logic would be, I'll use something that can have a reduced nicotine content.
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I don't personally know one person who did. They just moved onto doing both
I'm not a smoker/vaper so my opinion doesn't really matter here. But from a sober perspective, I believe that switching to vaping CAN be good, as long as you're willing to follow the rules diligently.
The biggest problem I can see going down would be that vaping can be more addictive because you can put more nicotine in it. So if you plan on getting one for a family member, make sure they are actually willing to quit. Because there is a possibility that you can make the addiction worse if they have the opportunity to put even more nicotine in their system.
Once again, this is from an outside perspective, if I'm in the wrong vapers, please let me know.
This is a little more complicated because vaping doesn't get nicotine into your blood as effectively as smoking. So even if the liquid seems like it's stronger than a cigarette would be, it's likely not actually getting them more nicotine. If anything too little nicotine is an issue because this could make it harder to switch.
Smokers (and vapers) also self titrate, meaning they adjust their smoking/vaping habits to get the amount of nicotine they want. So if you had a genuinely stronger vape, they would stop after fewer puffs. Nausea comes pretty quick after too much nicotine too so it's not pleasant to take too much.
I learned something today. Thank you for making me less ignorant.
Vaping is about as effective as a quitting aid as other nicotine replacement methods but with an as yet undefined long term risk profile.
Buy them some gum or patches instead.
It has the benefit of putting something in your mouth, and preserving the smoking ritual. Which is as important for many smokers as nicotine.
It's not without reason that it became so popular in the few years since it went mainstream.
Just offer them a dick to suck on along with the nicotine gum/patches ~/s~
(For real though, sucking dick can be quite meditative)
Thanks I'll make sure to try it
To be clear it has become popular as a substitute for (or adjunct to) smoking. As a quitting aid it isn't especially effective, even if slightly more effective than NRT.
I must say in my practice I haven't seen anyone quit using vapes, it just becomes a substitute.
I've quit both, and the first step was controlling the amount of nicotine I was inhaling. Once that went away I weened off all the other little triggers and cravings I want even aware of until I got hit with them.
It seems to be more effective: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub8/full
Thankyou, I have been relying on an article I read several years ago, which in my memory was Cochrane also, I may be able to track it down. Turns out I'm out of date on that stat.
I stand by it having uncertain long term consequences when other forms of NRT are proven safe.
I stand by it having uncertain long term consequences when other forms of NRT are proven safe.
Still better than smoking.
That's what we call damning with faint praise
Buy the gum and patches as additional options. The ritual of putting cig to mouth is incredibly strong, especially if there are social factors in play.
You can't make someone quit your way, they have to quit their way.
I think the ritual was the hardest part for me
Going cold turkey is supposedly not as delicious as it sounds, but it’s probably the best way.
There is no best way. What matters is what works and different methods work differently on different people. It's good to have a multitude of ways.
As for efficiency it seems that vaping is very efficient.
Maybe not the best way to quit, but the most likely way to stay quit.
I quit some 20 years ago without using vape (did it exist back then? Not sure) or any medication. That day, after careful consideration I made up my mind and never looked back.
And not just because of my health (it was a very important factor) but also because I had realized how much money I was throwing away. Thousands each year.