For the past two weeks, I have been embarking on the difficult journey to quit vaping. As embarrassing as it is to say out loud that I am addicted to vaping, I understand that it is a lot more common than most people think, especially within Gen Z. It is also good to raise awareness about the topic of quitting and tips and tricks that are useful to get you started.
A little backstory, I have been vaping since I was a senior in high school, however it did not become an issue until my spring semester. Like many people I was so opposed to the idea of putting chemicals into my body or smoking of any kind. Unfortunately that good conscience did not last long.
I decided to quit right after Halloween weekend because I was sick of feeling winded all the time and having a dependence on this little device that was constantly burning a hole in my pocket. I had tried quitting in the past, but nothing had ever shown long term results. This time, I made sure to stick with whatever methods I chose to ensure maximum effort on my part. These methods of beating nicotine withdrawal might not necessarily be backed by science, but they did their part in helping me and my friends who had previous struggles quit.
One big factor that I think really helped me, was telling a friend about my plan to quit. This way, I was not going through it alone and she encouraged me to stay on track. She made sure that whenever I was frustrated or feeling strong symptoms of withdrawal, I always had someone to talk to in order to help me through it.
Another method that I found extremely helpful during this difficult time was eating jolly ranchers. Studies show that eating sour candy can send signals to the brain that distract you from feeling impending thoughts of panic and anxiety. Whenever I wanted to take a hit of a vape, I popped a jolly rancher into my mouth instead. I could do it whenever and wherever, as opposed to vaping where you need to be outside in a designated area to smoke. Although it did not give me the same type of satisfaction as hitting a vape, and it definitely was not super healthy, it made me feel better to know that this was still better for my health.
Lastly, the most important thing to remember is to wean yourself off of the addiction rather than just going at it cold turkey. By stopping completely at one time, and not giving your body time to adjust to lowered levels of nicotine, the withdrawal symptoms will be much worse. My suggestion is, instead of having a vape in your pocket all day everyday, leave it at home or in the car and only hit it once every hour or two. This, while also taking part in other methods of quitting, will hopefully help you in taking back control of your life and lungs!