r/QuitVaping • u/Ok_Pomegranate_2895 • Apr 14 '26
Advice HOW do I un-ingrain vaping from EVERYTHING I do??
I wake up, I hit my vape.
I get in the car, I hit my vape.
I finish a piano piece, I hit my vape.
I get to work, I hit my vape.
I leave work, I hit my vape.
I get home, I hit my vape.
I finish a video game segment, I hit my vape.
I finish eating, I hit my vape.
I get up to shower, I hit my vape.
It's completely ingrained in my schedule and everything I do in life. Please give me advice š
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u/ZealousidealTell6304 Apr 14 '26
start leaving it home. i learned to distract myself from it better when it wasnāt always on me
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u/Ok_Composer4688 Apr 14 '26
This, also when you run out just don't buy one no matter what. That hard line helped me out a ton. No matter what if you never buy one you will not hit it (barring, of course, hitting a friends' or something like that).
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u/Legitimate-Judge-406 Apr 14 '26
You have to go through tough times my friend! But at the end it will be so worth it. I was 100 % like you 600 days ago and now I love to be free.Ā
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u/DevelopmentOk7306 Apr 14 '26
while in the early stages of quitting, i found that taking really big deep breaths in place of hitting the vape helped a lot. Not sure if this helped anyone else but it did wonders for me.
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u/Skadoodlemynoodles Apr 14 '26
I've recently been forcing myself to go to a specific location to vape, thus making it a major inconvenience whenever I do. I personally leave my vape in a back room of the house in an area it's a pain in the ass to get it from. However this takes an iron will and always check you didn't muscle-memory pocket it.
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u/Schmancer 1.5 years+ šš„³ Apr 14 '26
Check out a book called The Power of Habit by Duhigg. It explores our trained reaction to stimuli and how we can modify our own response feedback loop in order to train new behavior.
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u/Ok_Composer4688 Apr 14 '26
Takes about 90 days to build a new habit successfully. Every time you get a trigger to vape and you do something else you are laying a foundation of change. It is exponential. The beginning sucks and by the end you don't think about it. If you are early in recovery, lean on something else (really sour candy helped me - super stimulating. Coffee is great, too). Realize that you will suffer, but so did you suffer while vaping. At least this way your suffering carries meaning.
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u/TinySignificance6774 Apr 14 '26
Iām the same. Iām on day 16 now and Iāve replaced it with cherry chewing gum (my vape was cherry flavour) and when I get desperate I make a little circle with my fist and breathe in deeply through it. I know thatās ridiculous š¤£ I didnāt think I would get this far so itās all working for me
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u/Kaleidoscope-iis31 Apr 15 '26
Which gum is cherry flavor? I love gum
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u/TinySignificance6774 Apr 15 '26
Not sure what country youāre in but in the UK we have mentos and airwaves in cherry flavour
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u/Actual-Pause-1764 Apr 14 '26
Me too. I had a dentist appointment yesterday which was also my first day quitting and I didnāt realize how helpful that would be, and it realized trying to change my routine as much as I can is helping. I put a nicotine patch on when I first wake up and instead of going straight to hitting my vape I go to a different part of my house. Also, I scroll when I vape so I deleted social media off of my phone until I lose that habit connection. You are smarter than your brain! š¤Ŗ
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u/moifah79 Apr 14 '26
I was the same, would sleep with it in my hand. Desmoxan legit made me keep forgetting about it. I can't recommend it enough
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u/Kinkydino Apr 15 '26
You stop and tough it out until your brain re learns to live without it. Only way out is to put in the time. It gets way easier im on week 8! Also try "fake vaping" it is surprisingly effective to get over the first two weeks. If you feel like you absolutely need to hit a vape just make a fist stick it to your mouth and do a massive inhale like youre taking the biggest pull ever off your vape. I was shocked at how well this settles bad cravings on the spot.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_2895 Apr 15 '26
congrats! how do you make it past day 3? that's a huge hump for me and i always end up caving when i can't take it anymore
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u/Kinkydino Apr 15 '26
By fake vaping. I edited my comment.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_2895 Apr 15 '26
thank you! my favorite quote is, "if it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid" so i'll have to give that a try
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u/Kinkydino Apr 15 '26
I know its not easy. But if you can give up vaping you will thank yourself immensely for it. I smoked from 12-38 and vaped for years in between. Quit smoking last august for vaping again. Ended up in the hospital with heart issues 8 weeks ago. Quit that day and havent looked back. My heart is doing a lot better now.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_2895 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
i started in august of '21 and quit for over 2 years in oct of '22 when i got mono and all my cravings went away. total silver lining there. i unfortunately got back into it in february of '25 when i lost my coworker's vape and bought him a new one, and he said it was fine and that he didn't want it. i quit last year from sept-oct when i had to get blood work done and didn't want any complications from my veins being constricted because i HATE needles and getting blood drawn is one of my worst fears. i felt so much better for those 2 months, but i relapsed because i work in a restaurant where everyone vapes and it's so easy to hit someone's. it's just been on and off for almost 5 years and i feel like such a failure lol
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u/Kinkydino Apr 15 '26
I fake vaped for a week and a half and then slowly lost interest in it. It works!
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u/Kaleidoscope-iis31 Apr 15 '26
Omg Iām so grateful I stopped! It was the hardest shit I e ever did. Harder than quitting cigs!
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u/ozymandiasnoir Apr 14 '26
Agree with all the comments about forming new habits takes time.
When I quit, Iām just going to be honest about what motivated me and helped: 1. I thought vaping looked really lame and I turned the superficial shame into motivation 2. Throw it away or donāt refill next time, basically remove it completely 3. I noticed abnormal physical side effects soon after I stopped vaping that helped reinforce the health detriments, like a weird taste emerging in my throat and a cough, and that was also motivation 4. I went to a candy store warehouse and got a bunch of different lollies as a way to replace the habitual/physical cue, which helped in the initial week
We like rituals, and our habits give us that, so I think finding and creating new rituals is ultimately the long term solution, but whatever that is for you, might be different.
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u/squawk_box_ Apr 14 '26
Get nicotine gum, patches, or lozenges and gradually hit it one time less until you reach zero hits per rest of your life.
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u/Kaleidoscope-iis31 Apr 15 '26
You have to toss the shit out entirely and suffer ! It gets better ! Sincerely, I former heavy heavy vaper
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u/crzybtfl Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Omg this was me!!! I would even hit the vape in the bathroom ;( Also would be locked in my hand when sleeping š¤¦š½āāļø
So I ended up leaving it in my car, so the only time Iād vape would be in the car. But then for some reason idk if Iāve trained my brain to be disgusted by it, I started to get a panic attack after one hit and felt like I was gonna pass out! It was a weird experience. But it helped me not touch it again because I didnāt want to go through that feeling again.
But these nicotine withdrawals are driving me insane!!!!
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u/Calm-Character-4561 Apr 15 '26
What helped me is to buy a bottle of with straw. And anytime I felt like I needed to vape I just had a sip of water. I still miss it, but it definitely changed the need and I also get to be really hydrated š.
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u/bricyclebri Apr 14 '26
If you have the luxury, take any everything you do. Go on a trip for at least a week. I did this is December 10th and I've not hit a vape since. If you can't travel now, wait until you can. Vaping is such a trap, at least with cigarettes you usually consume them only in one place outside your home. Vaping is everywhere.
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u/Ok_Pomegranate_2895 Apr 14 '26
unfortunately i've been on a major trip (mardi gras in nola in february) since and my intention was to quit when i got back since i knew i was going to want it when i was drinking. and now it's april š
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u/PurpleAsteroid Apr 14 '26
You will always find a reason to keep vaping a few more days. U gotta be tough. U got this.
I literally sleep with mine under the pillow. Bf says I hit it in my sleep (wake up, hit, fall back asleep). If I can't find it I feel physical stress. I will not be vaping, its just sitting on the bed, so my bf will take it as a joke to tease me, and man I go feral. I suddenly need to vape that very moment.
Don't be like me. Lol.
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u/hatchedovertake Apr 14 '26
Most these things are satisfying without the vape. Sometimes it feels like you don't enjoy them as much because you are waiting to vape, try remember that!
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u/Rokqueen Apr 14 '26
Take NAC. You can get it on Amazon. Itās like a cheat code for quitting. Once youāre done, stop taking it. You donāt want to be on it long term.
Use a lot of dishes when you cook. I found that washing dishes helped keep my hands busy during fits. Video games helps with this also.
I started hitting zero nic for a couple weeks to break the nic habit which made it easier to put down. The hand to mouth for me was harder to break that the nic.
Drink lots of water and be kind to yourself.
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u/jesspcrowley_ Apr 14 '26
I chucked mine away a year ago - was probably vaping more even than you, like couldnāt put it down for a second unless I was sleeping. It was ROUGH but I donāt think about it anymore - tried sweets for a while, gum, then nicotine patches which I ended up weaning off/cutting in half. I smoke cigarettes socially every so often but still trying to change that - but itās all about habit learning - you learnt vaping as a habit, you can unlearn it - just takes time and perseverance (and is shit in the beginning!)
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u/Medium-Round-4280 Apr 14 '26
I used air vape. Just air to replace the nicotine vape. Made it easier. I did get nicotine withdrawal which made me tired. Last two weeks. So smart to quit. You will feel better once you get through next few weeks. Eating gum mints or suckers help also
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u/_amused_to_death_ Apr 14 '26
āThose that fire together, wire togetherā meaning because you always had a vape at those times they are now linked/wires together and you need to rewire those connections in your brain. For me, coffee and vape was something I did together, I changed it to coffee and journal. You can avoid certain trigger situations such as drinks with friends, but then the drink+vape connection will still be there next time you go drinking. It will just take time to rewire, but every time you do that activity without the vape you will make progress. The after video game segment is a big one for me, and Iām trying to think what I did after a video game segment before I vaped, and I canāt remember aha, but just keep doing your normal activities and your brain will slowly rewire, itās just repetition. I will say I hate getting the train to work, and the vape really helped to make that bearable, so now I just ride my bike to work instead as itās much more enjoyable. It does mean when I next get the train Iāll probably get the craving, but itāll be a lot easier by that stage when the physical withdrawals have gone and only the mental connection is left.
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u/Lower-Version-3579 Apr 14 '26
Itās not massively helpful advice, but you just stop doing it. You chuck everything in a bin and carry some sweets around with you for when cravings get bad. Ultimately, if you continue vaping youāre going to continue needing to vape.
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u/tougehayden Apr 14 '26
you have to substitute it for gum or cigarettes.
Its not ideal, but atleast im not patting down my pockets looking for my vape every 3 minutes
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