What Are The Dangers of Vaping and How To Quit
Vaping may be seen as a better alternative to smoking, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own risks. Here are a few things to be aware of when vaping, as well as a few ways to help you quit.
Addiction
One of the biggest problems with vaping is that you will quickly develop an addiction. While this may not be a problem initially, it will be incredibly difficult to quit further down the line, making issues associated with vaping more likely.
When it comes to learning how to quit vaping, the first thing you need to know is that the addiction aspect of it will be the hardest thing to break.
Harmful Chemicals
Another big problem associated with vaping is the long-term damage of the chemicals inside the juice. Vaping is still too new to know for studies to be accurate when it comes to determining the damage these chemicals cause.
It is important to be aware that vaping isn’t just ingesting vapour, and the chemicals in the vape liquid can cause damage that we don’t entirely know yet.
Lung Damage
Lung damage is another serious risk that you could face when vaping. Smoking anything can cause lung damage, as they aren’t built to handle that. Once again, it is difficult to know what the exact long-term effects are; therefore, it is far better to quit sooner rather than later.
Some early signs of lung damage can be having difficulty breathing, especially when exercising. A persistent cough, especially in the morning, is another sign of early lung damage.
How to Quit
When it comes to quitting, the road is never easy, but there are a few methods and tips to remember to make it easier and to quit altogether.
Set Quitting Goals
The first thing you need to do is to set some quitting goals. These should be both long and short-term goals; for short-term goals, set yourself a vape limit for the day or for the week, and try and stick to it as close as possible.
For long-term goals, things such as lowering the nicotine content of your vape after a month, switching to gum after two, and then quitting after three are reasonable and achievable goals.
Use Alternatives
Speaking of gum, smoking alternatives are brilliant at helping you quit. Besides gum, there are zero-nicotine smoking alternatives to help you get the vapour, but without the nicotine. You can also try more unique methods.
Having a fidget toy will keep your hands busy, while holding a pen or pencil will give you the feeling of holding a vape; while this sounds strange, these methods have been shown to help people quit.
Have Accountability
Holding yourself accountable for quitting or sticking to your goals can be very difficult, as you can always find reasons to let yourself slip up. Therefore, the best thing to do is to have friends and family hold you accountable as well.
Tell them about your quitting goals and tell them to enforce the rules you set for yourself. This will put you in a constant of state of making the right choices and steering away from vaping.
List the Reasons for Quitting
To keep yourself on track, list the reasons for why you want to quit. Healthy lungs, easy breathing, even something like being able to walk further. All of these are good reasons to quit and will keep your final goal on the horizon.
Cave Only if Necessary
While going cold turkey and not picking your vape up again is the best result, sometimes, it isn’t possible. Even when you are trying to quit and not cave, sometimes using your vape once or twice will stop you from binging.
Controlling it and knowing when to stop is still part of quitting and will help you remain vape-free for the rest of your life.
Exercise
Exercise is famous for being one of the best ways to distract yourself from any type of craving, especially vaping and smoking. You will find yourself starting to stress and become tense when you are craving nicotine, and exercise will help relieve these feelings.
While exercise is certainly not the only thing you should do, and it won’t always work, it is a great way to relieve cravings for a few hours and help you get over difficult times.
Deal with Stress
Finally, it is essential to deal with stress in a way that doesn’t involve vaping or nicotine. Smoking is a default for many people when they are stressed; therefore, you need to find better alternatives when you are feeling the same way.
Meditating, breathing exercises, going for a walk, and yoga are all great for stress relief, but you must find out what works for you the best.
While none of these methods guarantee it will be easy to quit, they will help you on your journey and make it far easier, especially when times are tough. If you know the risks and know how to quit, there is no reason for you to not reach your goals.