Trying to quit vaping? 6 Fashion Journal readers share their tips

How to put the vape down for good.

For a short while there, nicotine vapes were heralded as the answer to quitting cigarettes. But after a few humble drags of a 6000-puff Lush Ice iGet, several ex-smokers found themselves switching out the acoustic cigarette for the electronic one. And as it turns out, vaping isn’t very good for you, even if the flavour is fruit-adjacent.

Interested to hear how others navigate the world? Head to our Life section.

Vaping allows you to ingest nicotine without smelling like tobacco or having to step outside. It can give you a raspberry-scented head spin from the comfort of your own bed! It’s convenient and completely addictive, causing you to panic at the sight of a slowly blinking light at the end of a fluro-coloured e-cigarette stick. It’s silly, and not in a good way. So how do you quit? Here, Fashion Journal readers share their tips.

Indy*, 24, she/her

Honestly, I went back to cigarettes. This meant I went back to being a social smoker. I didn’t smoke at work, or at home with my family, but I knew I could do it with friends on the weekend. Although I didn’t fully quit smoking, it didn’t feel like a loss. I could still have nicotine, eventually.

Over time, I started smoking less and less, and now I’m nicotine-free most of the time (except on a night out, inevitably). I definitely don’t encourage smoking – it’s very bad for you – but having limits is a positive. Vaping can be done anywhere, at any time. So when there are more restrictions, it’s easy to wean off without quitting entirely.

Nick*, 37, he/him

I’m in the process of quitting now and it’s been a few weeks of going back and forth. I’m on the patches and weening myself off for good this weekend. I previously used to take weed gummies to help with withdrawals but found I just got addicted to them and my mental health went downhill.

Victoria*, 30, she/her

Ciggies. They’re expensive, smell bad and you can’t do it inside on the down-low.

Mia*, 28,  she/her

I’ve quit a few times. Some periods have lasted longer than others. Unfortunately, right now I’m vaping. There’s a lot of disappointment in myself tied up in it. I want them out of my life but clearly, not enough to make permanent change. When I did quit, my tips were:

• Substitute the flavour with similar-tasting lollies, Eclipse Mints, chewing gum, etc.
• Stay busy and find something to keep your mind on (going on a holiday without vapes was really helpful).
• Let your friends know you’ve quit, so they may not vape around you (social vaping is real).
• Make new habits (I hit my vape first thing in the morning and last thing at night).
• Weird one! Flavoured toothpaste kinda helps. If you vape first thing in the morning, use a grape-flavoured toothpaste instead and at night, too.
• Don’t take it places. If you want to slowly reduce the habit, make it less available to you.

My next trial will be CBD oil to manage my anxiety as I use my vape as an anxiety blanket (yet it makes me more anxious, go figure). I want vapes gone because I get FOMO when friends are vaping or I pass through someone’s vape cloud in the street.

Hannah*, 40, she/her

I waited ’til a long weekend and went cold turkey. It was a bit Trainspotting at first, but then I went out and bought small fruity treats like lollies and sodas to ease the craving and keep myself busy.

Fatuma*, 27, she/her

When it comes to nicotine, I had a really strong period of abstinence (for me, six months) and then it all crashed and burned when I caved on a night out and bought a vape. I won’t lie, I’d hit other people’s vapes occasionally, but having one yourself makes a huge difference. It’s all-access. Immediately I reverted to huffing on it during work bathroom breaks and while lying down in bed, and it’s just a shameful feeling. I didn’t want to be reliant on a hot-pink strawberry vape with a skull doing hand-horns on the front.

To start, I stopped taking it around with me in my handbag. It stayed on my bedside table for nighttime cravings (when they hit the worst) only. This immediately reduced my intake and I found most of the time, I just wanted it because it was there, not because I was physically craving it. I then weaned my nighttime cravings by keeping sugar-free strawberry lollies by my bed and drinking mugs and mugs of hot tea. Replacing one (gross) ritual with another helped and after a while, I stopped thinking about that silly little vape.

*Names have been changed.

If you’re struggling to quit nicotine, head here.