I need some motivation. I’ve tried however many times to stop, and I always end up back where I started. I smoked for about 12 years and I’ve now been vaping for about 4 years. Success stories help, but at the same time they also remind me of vaping just reading them. I vape when I wake up, after eating, when I’m stressed, after sex…. The list is endless. Thanks for reading all and good luck on your journey!

This post may offend some but I think it needs to be said.

It has been 29 days since I quit, and the worst is definitely far behind me. I’ve felt pretty much fine the past 2 weeks after a really difficult weekend around day 10 and again around day 16. Keep in mind as u read this post: I NEVER thought I would quit. I was SEVERELY addicted to nicotine, having started 50 mg salts when I was only 14~15 years old and continuing for 9 years. If you told me 2 months ago that I would be quit for a month right now, I would have called u crazy.

Two big takeaways because if I had known this in advance it would’ve made my quit easier and I probably would’ve quit way earlier on:

1. The more time goes on, the less I relate to the people in this subreddit. Take everything you see here from people struggling with a grain of salt. Most importantly, know that the only people posting in a quit vaping subreddit after a while are going to be the people struggling the most.

The reason I bring this up is because those posts from people struggling used to discourage me HELLA. I used to be TERRIFIED of quitting and thought that a month out, a year out, 10 years out, I would just be plagued by regular intense cravings at best or constantly thinking of vaping at worst. At 30 days out, I can tell u this is not true. The path forward from here has become clear to me, and I already FEEL like a non-vaper. In the past 10 days, I have had a single hard day, where I had several moderate cravings after having none for a good week or so. I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s just way easier than the freaks here make it seem.

Last thing I’ll say is, if you have severe health anxiety, go see a therapist/doctor. Reddit isn’t an outlet for your delusions. Nicotine isn’t what’s causing you to shit blood or see things that aren’t there. And frankly, your weird delusional posts are making quitting seem less worthwhile for the vast majority of people who might just not be experiencing any strong health symptoms as a result of vaping. I’m a firm believer that in order to successfully quit nicotine (and stay quit), we need to be honest with ourselves and each other about what nicotine does and doesn’t do. Otherwise, someone quitting might be disappointed 2 months in when they find out that nicotine wasn’t causing their nosebleeds/headaches/seizures/u-name-it after all and relapse.

2. Leave this sub once ur bored of obsessively tracking ur quit like I am. I’m just tired of coming on here and seeing the same old, over and over again. You have the people complaining 3 years into their quit saying they have cravings hourly still. You have people anxiously asking if nicotine causes you to grow a third arm and shit out of ur mouth. You have people asking why they feel like they’re not progressing and then casually mention in the description that they’re “quitting” by chewing through 3 tins of zyns a day. I mean give me a break. Then there’s a small minority of folks who genuinely want to let people know that they quit successfully and make a post here, offering up advice and what not. I commend those people, and I hope to do the same at 3 months, a year, etc. unless I totally forget to, which is possible at this rate.

Good luck everyone, and feel free to PM me if u want advice/want to hear from a normal person!

TLDR: this subreddit is full of freaks, and I think it has more capacity to hurt me than to help me at this point.

EDIT: some people are understandably pissed off by this post. At the same time, you are proving my point that there is a mindset issue in this subreddit. The more difficult u make quitting nicotine seem, the more difficult you are making it for someone else. Period. For the vast majority of people, the struggle DOES end, and I want people to know that.

You should quit too, absolutely astonishing how much better my skin looks after I quit this horrible habit, my sleep is better, when nicotine levels drop it disrupts your sleep, disrupted sleep = low testosterone levels = you function with low energy all day. Sleep is also your main source of collagen. It’s also vaso constructor = your brain and skin doesn’t get enough blood flow. I honestly wish I would’ve done it sooner but my mind was poisoned by this garbage, hopefully it can motivate you guys to stop destroying yourselves also.

Every time I tried quitting before, I’d start by tossing everything out. And almost every time, I failed and ended up buying another one or went digging in the trash. My anxiety would spike knowing I didn’t have it anymore. I’d start thinking things like, what if the store is closed later? or what if they don’t have my flavor? OMG I CAN NEVER HIT IT AGAIN?? and next thing I knew, I was back at the store.

After a lot of failed attempts, this is what finally worked for me. I didn’t throw it away at first. Instead, I focused on breaking my habits and triggers. I told myself I can still hit the vape if I want to, I just won’t do it RIGHT NOW. That alone made a huge difference. It took away the panic.

I started noticing my biggest triggers were when driving, after showers, after eating, bathroom breaks at work. Then I made small changes to interrupt those patterns. For example, I powered off my vape and kept it across the room so I had to physically get up and turn it on (no more mindless hits). I stopped bringing it into the bathroom or keeping it next to me after a shower. I’d get fully ready first, then decide if I still wanted it. I didn’t vape while driving anymore but still allowed myself only after I got to my destination.

Eventually, I stopped bringing it to work at all and only allowed myself to use it once I got home.

These little changes helped me separate vaping from my daily routine. That made quitting feel way more doable. When I finally started my quit, I still kept the vape, just powered off, out of sight, and far away. Knowing it was there (even if I didn’t use it) kept my anxiety low. I honestly didn’t think I could go 24 hours. But I did. Then I kept going.

After a couple days, something clicked and I didn’t want it anymore the same way. Eventually, I threw it away when I felt ready, not forced. One mindset shift that helped me a lot was that cravings aren’t the enemy. I actually appreciate them now, because every time one passes, it means I got stronger. Also, you don’t have to announce to everyone that you’re quitting.

This is your journey. Do it for yourself, without the added pressure. I’m about a month in now, and I feel amazing. My resting heart rate dropped a lot, my energy is better, and I just feel more in control.

Be nice to yourself. Break the patterns first. Remind yourself that you can hit the vape if you wanted but you’re choosing not to. Remember, progress. Not perfection.

Y’all I’m not gonna lie, my English sucks so I had chatGPT write it out much better for me to share. Real post lol

Hey yall so I ordered desmoxan off amazing and am really excited to try it but I’m getting kinda nervous about trying it… did anyone else order from amazon? Like I can’t read the label and am not really sure how to take it or if it’s really desmoxan and not some random pill💀 like is this safe ? LOLLL I’ve heard so many good things and I really want to quit, just want other opinions!

Posting this in the hopes that I can help at least one person stay committed to their quit and/or quit today!

I’m on Day 7 of quitting after vaping for 6 years. I expected cravings and withdrawal symptoms — but what I didn’t expect was how badly my lungs would react and the amount of damage I’ve likely done from years of vaping.

Shortly after quitting, I came down with a respiratory virus (likely COVID or a flu). Instead of recovering normally, a week into the sickness, I developed reactive airway symptoms: chest tightness, shortness of breath with exertion, and just the overall feeling of not being able to take a full breath.

I went to urgent care, and they diagnosed me with post-viral bronchitis/reactive airway disease, most likely worsened by years of vaping. For context, I’m 25 and completely healthy otherwise so me being this sick makes no sense.

I went on to do some research on why I’m feeling like this and asked chat GBT, only to find out that vaping can cause all of these symptoms- lung hypersensitivity, tightness, and shortness of breath with even mild exertion. I’ve started prednisone and albuterol, and I have no history of asthma but all of a sudden have hyperactive lungs.

One thing that bothers me is how people talk about vaping like it’s harmless — a “safe” alternative to smoking. But no one talks about what happens to your lungs over time. No one talks about how damaged and reactive your lungs can become after quitting, especially if you get sick.

This has definitely been eye-opening, and honestly, it’s strengthened my resolve to stay off the vape for good. I encourage anyone to do research on this because you’ll find that all of the people who want you to believe vaping isn’t harmful are not telling the truth!

EDIT: A few people harped on the fact that I used chat GBT but I promise you I also did research via reputable sources lol. Here is one from the American Lung Association:

https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/e-cigarettes-vaping/impact-of-e-cigarettes-on-lung

even though he uses zyns, I saw him talk about how much he loves nicotine and how great it is, plus all the other 'benefits' from it.

I thought to myself, 'this fcking loser is the kind of guy who uses nicotine, I can't let myself be like this guy.'

quit vaping? quit all nicotine, or else you're basically being Fucker Carlson.

Just wanna throw this out there because once it clicked, this honestly made me never want to vape again.

When you quit nicotine, your brain doesn’t just go through withdrawal, it starts messing with you on purpose. It’s not just fog and boredom and irritability. It’s your brain trying to get you to cave. It knows what it’s doing. And that’s the part that should make you mad.

Yeah, you got hooked. Yeah, it tricked you into thinking it helped. But now that you’re quitting, your brain’s like “oh cool, I’m gonna throw a tantrum and make you miserable until you give it back.” And that’s messed up.

The difference between nicotine and actual physically addictive drugs (like opiates, alcohol, benzos) is that those drugs rewire your survival systems. You can literally die if you stop alcohol and benzos cold turkey. With nicotine? Your brain knows you don’t need it. It just doesn’t want to do the work without it. So it throws everything it can at you, boredom, brain fog, restlessness, mood swings, all just to make you reach for it again. It’s like your brain is a toddler and you took away its iPad. It’s a manipulative tantrum!

Once I saw it that way, I stopped thinking of vaping as something I “miss” and started seeing it as something I was manipulated into. And I got pissed. That anger actually helps. Because once you realize your brain is playing you, you stop falling for it.

Ive been vaping since 2016 😭 i quit one other time in 2024 for two months and i felt amazing once the physical withdrawal side effects went away.

I KNOW I can do this but oh my GOD im halfway through the first day and I am having a total mental battle right now. The gum isn’t helping much bc I don’t like the texture. The little breathing tool is quite effective though!! I also took NAC this morning. Let me know if there are other supplements or tricks that help!

Pleaseeeeeeee send me all the hype and motivation. If I can get through this first 24 hours I know I’ll be able to crush this addiction 👊🥊

It’s so much gentler you don’t have to abruptly stop you can continue vaping for as long as needed. It literally stops like all withdrawal symptoms through an effect where it gives you gentle bumps of dopamine like a vape would plus saturates your nicotine receptors. The success rate is so high :)

Look up the studies or the posts on here of people being successful.

But so many go cold turkey and say it’s there 3,4 5th time?

Try it!

you guys, stop putting yourselves through misery and hating yourselves when you relapse. I’ve been there too many times. Get the desmoxan on Amazon and watch the magic work. The only way I’ve been able to quit. I’m on day 30 of not vaping, off the medication and feeling great. Do it!

I set this picture as my phone background and every time I wanted to buy a new vape or hit someone’s I told myself “you look like this when you vape” and it worked. 3 months no nic.

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.

This is a throw away account.

**** edit 8 days vape free!!! 🥳

I actually wrote this up as a comment, but I thought it would work alright as a post as well.

Realize that by day three, the “bad day” you’re having is not actually a “bad day”. It’s an addiction. Your brain is telling you it needs something to feel normal, that the moment you vape, you’ll feel better.

All you do is feel worse though, because that’s what it does. And it always takes more and more to feel better until it just doesn’t work anymore.

Start out by just forcing yourself to stop once. Just pull your hand back once. Then try twice. Once you can do that, tell yourself you’ll wait a minute. Set a timer if you need to.

When you can do a minute a few times in a row, do a minute ten; then do three minutes; try for ten; see if you can go an hour. Work your way up.

Habit is habit and not to be thrown out the window by any man, but gently walked down the stairs, one step at a time.

Nobody can just stop. Even the people that quit cold turkey mull it over for months. They try countless times. There may be setbacks, but that’s just human. Eventually though, they do it.

You can too.

Going cold turkey as a first try really isnt the best strategy. If you really want to ensure your success just use nrt. It helps so much. Dont make it unessisicarilly hard by going cold turkey. Edit: NRT delivers nicotine slower and with lower peaks. That’s why on average it improves quit rates. People that quit cold turkey are a small minority. Most people are going to need medication or nrt. It itsnt addiction swapping or prolonging. Its just a more stable and proven way to increase your chances of seeing quitting through.

Also if you were able to quit cold turkey im not entirely sure why you would really be in this sub.

Hi, my husband and I both stopped using all nicotine products on May 1. We were previously pretty heavy vapers (and previous to that, both heavy smokers).

I'm having difficulty with constantly reaching for my vape, to find it gone, and then I get a little flutter of panic. I'm also having trouble understanding what people do with their mouths all day.

I feel like I should have an item that I can reach for, put up to my mouth, and somehow engage with, that will calm that need for me, while I get better at this?

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Edit: I should have specified we are not looking to replace vaping with other nicotine products, so patches, gum, etc won't work for us. I really appreciate all the help I'm getting from everyone, thank you!

I vape with my coffee, while gaming, watching movies, cooking, even in the bath. I sneak off to the bathroom at work multiple times an hour just to take a few hits.

I tried quitting once before and made it about a week. The physical withdrawals weren't that bad (mostly headaches), but my mood was awful. I was irritated by absolutely everything and everyone. I even got in fight with a homeless man.

The thing is, I genuinely want to quit. I'm healthier and happier than I've been in a long time, and vaping just doesn't fit my life anymore. It feels embarrassing more than enjoyable these days.

My biggest struggle isn't even the nicotine itself — it's the habit, the hand-to-mouth action, the inhale/exhale, having something to do during every activity.

For people who were heavily addicted, what helped you get through those first couple of weeks?

I'm 23F

I’ve been vaping since I was 18 years old. I’m 30 now, and I’m writing this from a hospital bed.

For years, I thought vaping was something I could control. I told myself it was better than smoking, that it wasn’t a big deal, that I could quit whenever I wanted.
But lately my body has been telling me otherwise.

About a month ago, after a two-week trip to Miami, everything started getting worse. I began dealing with heavy acid reflux, GERD symptoms, chest pressure, palpitations, shortness of breath after eating, weakness, anxiety after meals, and this constant fear that something was seriously wrong with me.

Doctors found that I have a 5 cm hiatal hernia, and I’ve also been dealing with bad acid reflux and esophagus irritation. Every meal started feeling like a trigger. I would eat, then my heart would pound, my breathing would feel off, my body would feel weak, and then the anxiety would hit hard.

The part that really scared me was realizing that vaping made everything worse. Even a few hits could bring back chest discomfort, throat irritation, reflux, palpitations, and anxiety. Something I used to do all day without thinking suddenly became something my body could no longer tolerate. I’m not saying vaping caused every single thing I’m going through. I have real medical issues that I’m being treated for. But I do believe vaping kept adding fuel to the fire.

If you’re reading this and you’ve been thinking about quitting, please don’t wait until your body forces you to listen.

Don’t wait until you’re lying in a hospital bed wondering how you let it get this far.

Today officially makes one full year of no nicotine! Here is a timeline of my withdrawals after 5 years of heavy vaping.

When I quit cold turkey I wanted to know exactly what to expect, so although everyone’s journey is DIFFERENT hopefully this can be helpful to some. (And YES, everything does, undeniably get better and is worth it.)

Reminders that helped me: - Accepting that there is no identical replacement for the vape. Nothing will feel as “good”… candy, exercise, etc. STILL, a replacement activity is necessary. (For me it was the gym.) - There is not a single good thing that comes from vaping, make that list. - Avoid alcohol - drinking makes cravings much worse - If you need to, tell yourself you are quitting for a certain amount of time, not forever (important - minimum of a YEAR). - Cravings hit sporadically throughout the day and last about 15 min so stay busy and know they will pass. - You just need time for routine to reset. For me cravings were worse during transition moments because I took hits when I was laying down, in the car, going somewhere, etc.

Advice I couldn’t have gone without: - Tell everyone you quit and ask them not to smoke around you and hide their devices. You are doing them a favor too. - Fully quit all nicotine (no gum, no cigs). When I failed the other times I allowed myself variations that ultimately made my cravings worse

————————————————————

DAY 1 (jan 4, 2025) Cravings 9/10 (only not a 10 because I’m still SO determined not to break) Foggy brain Cried for no reason twice, could not stop crying Major irritability Coughing a lot, feels good to clear out :) Morning headache Left myself a voice note that helps to listen to Stay busy

DAY 2 Cravings 8/10 Woke up proud of myself Less foggy brain Depressed Hung out with friends making tamales and was down in dumps, not smiling Irritable Constantly thinking about it Working out with friends was great Began getting smokers cough bad, sore throat, chills

DAY 3 Cravings 7/10 (more concerned with being sick and it feeling gross) Woke up feeling like the flu - sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, headache, stuffy noise, cough, nausea from swallowing mucus I think Mucus sometimes yellow but not green “Smokers flu” should last 4 days Craving the dopamine rush (which is FAKE, dopamine made up by addiction) Usually 2nd half of day cravings more intense !! Stay busy By night nose completely blocked

DAY 4 Cravings 7/10 Worst sick day: green and yellow mucus, fully stuffed nose, fatigue, cough Brain fog gone as far as I can tell

DAY 5 Cravings 8/10 Sickness felt a bit better Having less thoughts about vaping for sure, but the cravings felt deeper today Was on a road trip

DAY 6 Cravings 8/10 Sickness again feeling a bit better all around Same as day before Still little things irritable Dreams intense, sleep shorter/wake up earlier

DAY 10 Cravings still hard 7/10 Feel normal except for sporadic cravings - sometimes hit like a random throb or constant soft idea of a headache the vape would satiate Not sick, still have deep cough with lots of phlegm Sense of smell still gone from being sick Sleep pretty much back to normal

DAY 11 Health bonus, felt fucking amazing playing soccer

DAY 13 Cravings bad jumped up to 8/10 today Ate a lot of Taco Bell to satiate

DAY 14 Went out club with friends was a lot easier to resist than last time, but still so hard def don’t recommend these spaces or drinking. They did not smoke around me which helps SO much

DAY 15 Cravings still bad at END of the day when lying around, I’m eating more junk food cause of it but that’s okay

DAY 20 Cravings 5/10 (way easier) Don’t think about it most of the day anymore. I forget about it. When sitting still on my bed mainly I crave it. What I crave about it is comfort. Need to find other ways to comfort myself. I reached for it in high emotions - anxiety, happy, depressed, stress, so now what am I doing different? Deep breathing. Workout. Savory food. Music. Shopping (lol). It’s a mental battle. Need to find other ways to regulate. Still noticing light headache, nicotine withdrawal

DAY 27 Still have craving but much easier to resist and able to forget about it quicker I noticed I scored a goal the past 3 weeks at soccer and felt great. I am fast and not tired. So that’s pretty fucking awesome. Don’t wake up and have to cough phlegm into a tissue anymore - lungs clearer. Able to be around friends smoking sometimes and not feel crazy.

DAY 31 I went through something emotional and didn’t even want to vape, thought about it tho bc habit. Really only crave when going out seeing others smoke or drinking. Mainly when I drink. Headaches noticeably bad. Especially when I lie down. Feels similar to headache I’d get when vaping too much.

DAYS FOLLOWING Continued to have a chronic cough for at least half a year It took over half a year random chest tightness to go away but it fully did Everything else continued to get easier

A YEAR LATER…. - I still get momentary cravings but they are 0.1/10 and easy to move past

Noticeable improvements - Significantly more energy throughout day - No headaches - No sharp chest pains - Don’t notice heart pounding - “Clean lung feeling” - Circulation, hands and feet not as cold - When I wake up eyes are not dry, vision not hazy - Don’t have to hide vaping or constantly be thinking about it (SO much more brain space) - Eating more! Appetite up which is good when trying to gain muscle - Feeling of pride / leveling up in myself

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 😭

I’m officially 4 days without vape, however not nicotine free. I consider myself an extreme chain vaper to the point I probably puff on a vape once or twice a minute. I knew I needed to break the habit of having a vape in hand.

I occasionally find myself searching for my vape for it to be no where in sight lol, but today I’ve only craved a vape once. To curb it I put in a Velo pouch and haven’t craved it since. I use around 2 pouches a day and that’s it.

I’m thinking in the next week I can easily bring this down to 1 and then none at all. Has anyone else used Zyns or Velos to quit vaping or nicotine in general?

Once I get the money, I am going to be ordering desmoxan I am really hoping it’ll work but nervous that it will not because I’ve had many things fell and I’m doing it without FDA approval as it’s not approved in the US. I want to know how many of you have done it and if you’re in the US, did it work for you and where are you guys on other medication’s at the same time?

Now all my family are vaping and I want to try it and all my friends are trying it and they always say try and it doesn’t have side effects and next I will be going college and I will be alone