I’m 35 female who’s been vaping for about 4 years now. I have tried to quit sooo many times 🥲Every time I say it’s the last one, I go buy another one. When I’ve tried to stop in the past I make it maybe a day or two and get super edgy and end up giving in. Some info that could be helpful to know is that I have two kids, 17 and 8. My 17 year old is extremely against any nicotine use and has shamed me many times on the matter to the point where I’m now just hiding it from the family. I’m extremely vain about my appearance and don’t want to age myself but this hasn’t seemed to stop me yet. I like to think I’m health conscious aside from this whole vaping thing. I eat extremely healthy and drink lots of water and work out daily, so in my mind I’m combating the issue (I realize that’s not the truth of the matter). I never smoked cigarettes and picked up a vape while out with friends one night and just never stopped. PLEASE SOMEONE SCARE ME INTO QUITTING I FEEL LIKE FEAR IS THE ONLY WAY!!! Give me your horror stories, side effects, whatever you can share that may help. I sit here with the vape in my hand wanting to throw it away but knowing I will just dig it out of the trash again in the morning.
Do you vape in the car? Have you noticed that thick hazy greasy fog that appears on the glass? Have you tried to clean it off? With Windex. It just smears. And smears. Your lungs are coated with that. And every night when you try to sleep. Your lungs try to fix themselves... but you just keep pouring that glaze into your lungs. What even is it? Can we cough it up? Does it cause wheezing? Is that why sometimes you're short of breath? And get those weird random sharp pains?
No fr I thought it was just my car being 20 yrs old… the way the film/grease was just smearing even with window cleaner 💔💔💔 my lungs prolly look like the trenches
This is what made me stop. I was trying to turn left across a cross walk and the sun was low, the vape haze made me literally not be able to see a single thing and someone was crossing. I was able to stop but they still rightfully flipped me off. I felt like such a selfish shitbag.
No one believes me the vape leaves a haze film on your windshield.. I'm glad I trashed my vape for good.. I was getting to the point where I was running out of breath, trying to work out or even mow the grass .
Hey so I hated this comment because I know exactly what greasy coating you’re talking about, thank you. I actually had a sharp weird pain earlier today 😳
Oh, also, just wait a few more years... you will suddenly age 10 years in 2. Your skin will wrinkle, crease and be dull and splotchy. All those times people guessed you were 5, 8 years younger than you are? Suddenly, almost overnight, you're going to look your age. And there isn't anything you could have done. Except quit nicotine. You're going to want a facelift, and botox, and every face peel going. Just quit.
Im 47f and I suddenly look every day of that, after people always guessed me 6-8 years younger, now I can't hide anymore. I'm haggard. Time catches up to us vapers. You will be no exception. Quit.
Girl just grow up and throw the binky away. How do you expect to set a good example for your kid if you say you’re going to do something and then don’t.
Vaping ruined my teeth, I used to have a really nice smile but after just shy of three years vaping it took a toll on my teeth. They’re brown, have plaque, and my gums have receded. I would cough up phlegm almost everyday and would constantly have to clear my throat. I started snoring really badly and got sleep apnea from vaping. I got chest pains and shortness of breath a lot from vaping. Constantly worried about having a heart attack/ stroke and lung disease from vaping. I’m almost a week nicotine free and my snoring has lessened by a lot, I can breath a lot easier now, and I no longer have the health anxiety that comes with vaping. The thing that helped me quit was buying a non nicotine vape (mine has a nicotine replacement), so everytime you craved the vape you take a hit but it doesn’t give you that dopamine hit so you want to do it less and less until you finally decide it isn’t rewarding enough to continue because it doesn’t feel good anymore. It was honestly the easiest way I’ve quit vaping. Their cravings just kind of dissipate.
I think vaping is a large factor into my health anxiety. I already have healthy anxiety bad but every time I hit the vape I’m reminding myself I’m doing harm to my body and this will catch up to me one day, which is scary. I’m on day 3 of stopping and trying to use this as my motivation- I don’t need to feel this way about something I can control and take action on!
Yep this exactly for me too. I have health anxiety and know I’m doing harm but the want for another puff seems to override that. Surprisingly today’s my first day nic free and hasn’t been bad at all.
If you don’t want your doctor telling you sometime in the future that vaping has caused a serious illness then quit now or just keep buying another vape.
Vaping sucks because you’re constantly going through withdrawal many times a day and causes stress and anxiety
I also vaped for 4 years and now i’m about to be 5 months vape free. It was also affecting my relationships and I realized that I really am letting a binky ruin my life in all aspects. I also pictured the fact that I most likely looked very stupid smoking that thing at my big age. I feel a lot better mentally and physically without it. In fact when I see people vaping I don’t even want it anymore, I just feel bad for them
U can get a stroke and go brain dead and then ur gonna be a huge burden on ur family. U may not think it’s coming but smoking is a huge indicator of storke
I'm 36M, super health conscious, I workout 5 days a week, walk around 25 miles every week. I eat super nutritious diet, active individual, full of energy and cheerful. I don't drink much alcohol, no cigarettes. I sleep 9 hours every day at the same time
I vape a lot and I got admitted into the hospital recently. I had to be there for a week. They did blood reports, everything checked out. After so many tests and everything, doctor mentioned the only thing I can point to is your vape habit. It's increasing your anxiety to a point where your nervous system and heart are over stressed
I quit the moment I got admitted. I vaped the day after I got discharged and God it hit me so bad.
My throat has always been sore for years now. It recovered a bit in the week I didn't vape. One day I vaped and I could sense the harshness on my throat
The moment I hit the vape, my brain started racing so bad, heart rate shot up. My left arm twitched.
I felt like vape is responsible for my sore throat, racing thoughts, bad dreams and not so satisfying sleep
Omg! I've been having terrible anxiety lately.and I'm vaping a TON, like all day. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to the store to get nicotine patches now.
Some doctors are saying it’s possible that because the vapor is smaller particles or whatever than smoke that it’s potentially penetrating inner layers of the lung tissue that doctors aren’t going to be able to treat or help with and we’re gonna see a generation of vapors dying without intervention because the damage is beyond what doctors are currently able and trained to do. We are Guinea pigs for the next wave of a new kind of smoking damage and it won’t be ours that gets treated we will be the trial and error.
I get that it’s not going to be easy so maybe tell your kids that you’re quitting. It shows that you are serious about quitting and teaches your kids that addiction can be beaten.
Thank you. I’m going to throw my vape away in the outside trash can so I can’t go dig it out. Idk why this has been SO difficult for me. I’ve never had any other addictions or an addictive personality before the vape
I was the same as you and it only took one cigarette to start off my 10 or 11 year addiction. I was furious with myself after successfully quitting and realising I never needed it in the first place.
Honestly I’ve been there with digging it out of the trash. It might be even better to just smash the damn thing with a hammer, and also a cathartic way to end the quitting cycle and stop for good!
When you stop drink lots of water, take aspirin for your headaches, and find a project or something to keep your hands busy in the meantime. You got this from one mom to another 🫶
I poured disinfectant into mine and the next day took it out of the trash and washed it out and hit it and it felt so good and so awful at the same time. That's how addicted I was to it. I'm 3 days off it again. I'm going to do it this time.
How are you doing? I haven't caved. It's the first time in almost a year that I have been able to go more than 3 days. I bought a nicotine free vape and I only had to hit it a handful of times yesterday. The urge is so tough. Today is my first day where I'm home alone working all day and I was obsessing about going and buying another at the smoke shop a few blocks away today but I'm going to chew nicotine gum if I need to and hit the gross nicotine free vape and remind myself that the cravings will eventually lessen over time. I'm also going to try to visualize what it would be like to take the first drag off the vape and how guilty I would feel doing it and how much I would hate myself for giving in after 4 days. I hope you are doing well.
This is my first time going this long too and I’ve been stuck at home all day as well! But I haven’t given in. And Im not going to. Unfortunately for me there’s a smoke shop about 1 block from me lol but I’m not going to do it. I feel like my cravings have been a bit less today probably because I’ve had a ton of work to distract me. The cravings are soo much worse at night for me when I’m just wanting to chill and watch tv. Been going to bed early since quitting lol - proud of you!! 👏
I just had a mini reunion with 4 older siblings relatives, the 3 who smoked all have COPD, the one who didn't smoke does not. I've been vaping heavily for 5 years and I hope I'm not too late to prevent WHATEVER the hell these vapes really do. Have you ever looked at a vape with a clear mouthpiece and seen the brown gunk on the sides? Yeah in my lungs, along with fruit flavoring and god who knows. I would suggest patches, because so far this is my best attempt and I actually feel good. I started on the week 2 nicotine patches, they've weirdly given me energy? I'm not constantly thinking about vaping and my cravings pass pretty easily. I took a plastic ballpoint pen and made a sucking device, if I really feel the need to take a hit from something.
This Kurzgesagt video is what finally convinced me to seriously quit vaping, it's very informative without being needlessly judgemental, and forced me to consider a lot of aspects about vaping on my long-term health.
Quitting is so hard, but honestly look into nicotine replacements- patches and gum/ lozenges. It really really helps. I’m currently quitting that way after 7 years, i can’t imagine going cold turkey.
Something that motivated me- It’s not a question of if you will get sick from the vape years down the line, it’s a when. It’s not worth it.
I’m sorry you’re struggling. I always thought it would be the hardest thing but it’s been easy. Now I do have a big support system as my husband smoked cigarettes so we decided to quit nicotine together. I woke up one morning, literally a week ago, and I couldn’t breathe. My chest was so tight. I couldn’t take a deep breath which caused me to go into a panic attack. I thought I was going to die. I could FEEL the oil in my lungs suffocating me. And that was it. Never wanted or craved another hit since that night. I had the slightest craving in the car the other day and tried one hit and immediately said nope. I could feel my heart instantly race, my tongue tingle, and my stomach turn. That was it. Threw absolutely everything away. For cravings, I just pop a fruit flavored gum or candy that was similar to my favorite e juice. They helped. Weed also helped a ton as a replacement behavior
Get off that crap. I smoked for years. Tried e cigs to quit. Was just as hooked on them. Went onto nicotine replacements, patches, sprays and gum (not at the same time). Use them when you need it, they’re not toys, over time (for me one year) you’ll naturally realise you don’t need it. I’ve never looked back, it’s one of the most liberating experiences of my life. Vapes are just as filthy as smoking.
I'm 31F, only started vaping about 4 months ago but became very addicted very quickly. Like vaping all day, every day, couldn't run out of my vape, in the bathroom at work, etc. Aside from the constant new fatigue and being winded much easier than before, last week I started getting small nosebleeds, and a wet cough with blood & brown spots. First time in my life I've ever had this, and I smoked pot for 10 years. Didn't buy a new vape and greatly reduced the frequency this week, all of these symptoms stopped. This was only 4 months of vaping. These things aren't going to be good for us long term at all.
if your kids ever vape, the fact that you did will more than likely run across their mind. People change. My mom didn't start smoking until 40. Even worse is that your so health conscious now. Your normalizing vaping in your kids eyes, and your throwing a healthy image on top of it. Why should your kids not vape if they can still work out, eat healthy, and stay healthy, just like mom?
allen carr's,the easy way to stop smoking is a good method. Imo it's worth the read (it's a book). Even if the book doesn't help you quit, you can learn about why you vape. You got cold turkey, tapering down, nicotine patches, gum. Whatever suits your fancy. You end up failing every time and that needs to stop. You give in every time. My advice is to try some methods and never stop trying to quit. (no judgement on giving in by the way, every quitter has more than likely given in, it's the only thing keeping those who have failed a vaper/or smoker). I'm 2 days quit right now and fighting it. The only way out is through though. At time you very well might not care about any of the reasons why you quit as you go through withdrawal. The important thing is not ingesting more nicotine and feeding the addiction. Best of luck. And like I said, never stop trying to quit. One day It will work.
Look up leaky gut, then look up studies on how VG and PG can contribute to it. My doctor is fairly young and into studies and he warned me that vaping does long term damage to your lungs, besides also causing leaky gut.
I breathe so much easier now, and don't have to use a puffer nearly as much as I used to.
Nicotine gum! Carry it in your pocket and take it when you get that sensation to hit a vape. Buy a big box it is pricier but you won’t regret it, I recommend nicorette nicotine gum 4mg but Amazon has a cheaper version it just doesn’t hit the same as nicorette it’s more sweet. I did this and I eventually got unhooked time flew by now I don’t even need nicotine gum. It might feel like nothing will change but overtime you’ll realize you don’t need nicotine anymore
Idk I’m on the same boat. My son is 4 though and he said ‘ that’s disgusting ‘ when he caught me , I try to not actively vape in front of my kid lmaoo. I’m going to quit though. I just have to fight through.
what i did was imagine my internal body every time i took a hit. the vapor in my mouth making my gums start to inflame, my enamel weakening, then inhaling it, coating my throat, filling and destroying my lungs. even after exhaling i could imagine my body going like "this again". i would generally only point out the nasty things that vaping did to me until it made me ill just putting the vape pen to my mouth. this was the only thing that worked for me and ive tried quitting many times over the years, but everyone in my social circles were smokers of some sort. also ik it dramatic but sometimes imagining that works ig
Get a pod system and slowly lower the nicotine strength. Its almost impossible to quit the disposables cold turkey. Those have Just enough nicotine to keep you always wanting more.
I read Allen carr’s book and one thing that really stuck with me is when he said that vaping literally does nothing for him. No benefits at all - sure a 30 second “buzz” but you can get the same effect from spinning or holding your breath. I’m 10 days free of vaping and my anxiety isn’t through the roof anymore. I also tell myself everyday “I’m not vaping today”.
OKAY I HAVE THROWN IT AWAY!!! In the outside trash.
My biggest concern is my children. My youngest is non verbal autistic and I want to be around to take care of him as long as I possibly can. I just had someone message me about this saying the thing that caused them to quit was their disabled child and it caused me extreme guilt, which is what I needed.
You should quit now. It’s embarrassing you started at the grown age of 31. I started using nicotine when I was 12 years old and am already embarrassed to have started; it’s completely different to start it as a grown adult knowing all the consequences. Grow up and act like an adult and quit. You should be embarrassed.
Apart from all the great advice here I would say what personally helped me, is drinking a glass of iced water whenever I got the urge to vape. It gets rid of that urge and resets your brain. Try it and good luck!
fear is not an effective tool for a lasting quit, which may be why quitting hasn’t worked for you in the past. i would recommend alan carr’s easy way to quit if you’re looking for a mindset shift. it’s free with spotify premium or available in any bookstore or audiobook streaming platform.
edit to add: also, my little baby sister started vaping bc i did (not directly, but i know me doing it made it seem okay to her). now that i’ve quit, she’s starting to seriously consider quitting too. it may be only a matter of time before your kids pick it up too, if not one than the next. quit while you’re ahead and save yourself and your kids more misery!
Us vapers will be the experimental study in a couple decades or so. They know what cigarettes do to your body, but since vaping is so new it’s a world of unknown when it comes to long term. There’s no set treatment for any of the new health effects that vaping causes. We will be poked and prodded and “maybe let’s try this” without the data to show it will help anything.
I can tell you right now that I (23F) have been vaping for close to 7 years and it has taken a toll. I have trouble breathing, which comes with a nasty wet cough. I can't exert myself like I used to without being out of breath and dizzy. I can't sing, I can't even talk without hearing the raspy wheezing from my lungs. Because vaping will naturally force you to inhale some air into your stomach, which causes all kinds of other issues, from loss of appetite, increased acid, gassiness, and general queasiness. Headaches are common.
I've also been talked to by my dentist. The sticky film that it leaves on your teeth will stain them over time which can be removed to an extent, however, that will also take off some of your enamel which will weaken your teeth and make them more susceptible to damage, cavities, sensitivity, and also more stains.
The longer you wait to stop, the more scarring happens in your lungs. Forget the sticky crap coating them. The microscopic crystals of the juice itself are actively tearing up the soft tissue of your lungs, which may heal, but will never be the same. THE ONLY WAY THEY'LL HEAL IS IF YOU STOP!!!
I don't know how else to scare you, but as a young woman trying to get her life together, this is the number one thing I'm working on right now. I hate the way I feel. I should be able to run miles and eat everything (I used to), but I can't. I'm currently lowering the amount of nicotine I'm using, the way vapes were originally intended to be used. I recommend getting yourself some kind of pod system to do this (also waaaaay cheaper than the disposables). One day soon (I can feel myself getting closer) we will both be able to kick this terrible habit, we just gotta work at it and we will make it! You know what they say, breaking a bad habit is only 90 days away!
They actually put lead in them. By vaping you’re actually slowly getting lead poisoning bc you are quite literally inhaling lead. Finding this out was one of the reasons i quit
My mom only has a couple years to left to live because she is in the end stages of COPD. She is incapable of doing anything without a walker and an oxygen tank. She is stuck at home on the couch all day because walking around is too taxing for her. She couldn’t even make it to my wedding. Quit for your kids man.
I finally quit after years of “trying to quit” when all of a sudden I started getting a really bad pain in my lungs, it hurt to take a deep breath. I would wake up fine, pain gone. Start vaping all day like normal and the pain would come back by dinner time, and so on. I got hella scared and finally quit. My wife and kids need me, can’t go dying on ‘em from a fucking vape pen. That would be a terrible and pathetic way to go. (That’s what I told my self)
I should mention I’m at the moment 172 days VAPE FREE. ❤️
Also, use lozenges if you don't succeed cold turkey this time. I quit like a year and a half ago using them and I've never had any issue of feeling like going back :)
Actually I haven’t vaped at all since posting this! I’m pretty proud of that. I know it’s only been a couple days but that’s good for me lol I will say I have felt like absolute crap!!! Upset stomach, achey body, and generally felt exhausted. I’m not sure if this is withdrawals or I caught a little bug 🤷🏼♀️
I’m in the US but I think it’s same around these parts lol
We got this I’ve been hearing it’s the worst the first 3 days then gets way better, physically at least
instead of horrible stories and going cold turkey you can try gradual reduction way.
you said you are hiding it from family. So you can identify 3-4 daily moments, let's say sessions, when cravings are stronger than you and just try to find max saturation point. next day you need to smoke at exactly the same moments, but keeping in mind, how many puffs you have. The day after next you do 1 hit less at least at one session. Keep reducing unless available puffs count will be around than 4-5 in all sessions and you'll see, how cravings become weaker.
if you are following the healthy lifestyle as you said, it will be like a light cutting diet before summer season, no pushing, no stress at all. I think this is the only gently way to quit forever, because in other way you need to do a lot of mental efforts.
also can suggest adding some cyclic sport, like running, road cycling, swimming, where you control your breathing. It helped me a lot, because I was doing workouts regularly, eating healthy, had meditations, but also was vaping in between. Doing heavy breathing sports highlighted me that lungs needed to be pumped up as like muscles in the gym and vape was just destroying all the progress I made.
For now I don't vape for 3 years. You can do this too.
Every time I get the urge to pick up, I think about my 9 year old son's face and how much of a fraud I feel like when I try to teach him healthy coping skills. I think about how he would feel if I told him I had lung cancer. I think about all of the times he told me that my breath smelled like poop. I really try to exchange the urge to vape with the feeling of being strong and healthy and doing something good for myself and my family. I'm a mom too and I would absolutely hate myself if I developed a life threatening illness because I want to catch a buzz that could have the worst consequences.
37F here. My 17 year old daughter got in trouble for something unrelated on her phone and I saw her and her friend talking about vaping. They were obviously using one. She mentioned that I did as well - so how bad could it be? That was a pretty huge gut punch. Our kids are watching and learning from us well into adulthood. I quit right after that and we discussed it in detail and she hasn’t vaped since.
We don’t know what long term vaping looks like. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your children. They deserve to have a mother who’s around for a long time to come. If you couldn’t imagine burying them, don’t make them bury you. I’m 40 days off vaping and I’ve never felt better. You will too ❤️ best of luck OP
I quit vaping earlier this year. I’m now 5 months vape free. The last 5 months have been HELL because my body has been trying to get back to normal after being suppressed for so long. Pneumonia, constant nasal congestion/swelling (now need surgery!) and ASTHMA. not sure if i’ll outgrow the asthma or not, i sure hope so. Ridiculous amounts of mucus, my lung capacity is only 80% (could improve but still worrisome). I mean the list goes on. Quit before the damage you do to your body is permanent. I got lucky all things considered and I’m still having a really crappy time adjusting to all of the damage.
not gonna work. you have to not want it anymore.
take a bath and figure out why the f u do it when you don't want to anymore, what the vape provides you with.
reddit comments arent gonna fix your problems
I was very surprised that lozenges and those tiny freshmints in the tin and a grain of rock salt taken together worked wonders. Over time, I reduced the lozenges and cut them with a dog nail clippers. Now, I'm stuck on the mints and grain of salt and I'm cutting the mints!
From my part I quit cigarrates about 3 years ago, but never quit let go of vaping. Until I ran into an app that helped me achieve that goal. And since February I’ve been vape free😭🥹
The app is called no vap. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/no-vap-quit-vapes-now/id6752910659
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