7 Extremely Helpful Tips On How To Stop Vaping
Out of all countries, there is an estimate of 58.1 million people vape in 2018. That is almost 1% of the world population. Most users are under the age of 35 but 1 in 20 adults use. Vaping is not good compared to smoking cigarettes. Even though it is slightly less harmful, it is still harmful. Some common side effects of vaping are coughing, dry mouth and/ or throat, shortness of breath, mouth and/or throat irritation, dizziness, heart palpitations, sleepiness, weakened taste and headaches. Actually, these are the exact same side effects as smoking cigarettes. Some more serious side effects of vaping are a nicotine addiction, lung problems, cancer, popcorn lung, strokes, heart attacks, and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia. These side effects are long lasting. Some types of cancers that you could get are lung, mouth, pancreatic, and throat. Some mental effects are difficulty to concentrate, learn, use self-control, maintain attention, and mood. Do what is best for you and take the steps to quit vaping and/or smoking cigarettes. Below are 7 tips to help you to stop vaping.
1. Create a plan
Staying motivated and confident in yourself is hard without a vaping quit plan. It is hard to keep yourself accountable without it. This is a must to help you to quit vaping successfully. To begin, you should plan a day in the next couple weeks to be your quit date. Figure out why you want to quit to keep you motivated. Calculating how much vaping actually costs you a week is a good motivator. Decide what you could do with all that money you are wasting on nicotine. Imagine yourself vape free. If you shift your mental state and have a more positive outlook, you will think of yourself as someone who does not vape. This is where mind over matter really is true. Remember that you can have slip-ups, your journey will not be perfect. Just do not give up because you can and will get through it. You can do anything. Never forget that.
2. Get a team involved
It is hard to quit nicotine alone. Building a team will keep you accountable and they are great to be there when you need to talk. This is a time when you will want to be asking for a lot of help because it will be hard at first. A group of people standing behind you is exactly what you need. No one roots for you like your friends and family do. Don’t forget to express gratitude to your team because when you are grateful, your physical, mental and self esteem goes up. When you finally start to feel rid of your nicotine addiction, you can support others who were in your same position. You will understand the process like no one else. This is a great learning lesson and it will help you handle situations like this in the future better.
3. Get up and move
Exercise is essential. Nicotine creates epinephrine and endorphins. But you can substitute it with physical activity, which is a great way to get endorphins. They decrease your perception of pain. Exercising has so many benefits. It keeps you at a healthy weight, increases your self esteem, prevents heart disease and high blood pressure, while vaping does the exact opposite. When I say exercise, I don’t mean going to run on the treadmill for 5 hours. I am talking about just going on short walks, doing yoga, playing frisbee, swimming, lifting weights, hiking, etc.
4. Distract yourself
If you find yourself craving nicotine, distract yourself so that your mind will speed up the process. Distractions can be playing a game, dancing, listening to music, doodling, painting, etc. Or if you are too lazy to get up, taking deep breaths and drinking water really helps a lot.
5. Surround yourself with a good environment always
If people who you surround yourself with are always vaping, you most likely will never be able to stop. Or they just may not understand your decision and that will inhibit your growth as well. As I stated earlier, you need as much support during this time as you can possibly get. If you talk to these unsupportive people about how you need them to be on your side and they still are not respecting your decision, then consider distancing yourself. Take a break from them until you feel comfortable with being around people who may vape still around you. If you do not want to take a break from them, then ask them to not vape around you at the very least. When people still don’t respect that, that shows you their true colors. Don’t let these people stop you from quitting. Keep in mind why you wanted to stop in the first place.
6. Replace nicotine with something else (something good of course)
Replacing nicotine with something else is vital to beating your nicotine addiction. It is advised by doctors that you start nicotine replacement therapy the day that you quit vaping. Using patches, gum, sprays, or inhalers can help some people. Inside this products, there is a certain amount of nicotine in it that will help you avoid the rush that you get from smoking or vaping while you still hit your withdrawal symptoms. The dosages vary per person, so you should ask your doctor what the right dosage is for you.
7. Celebrate the wins
It is not easy to quit any addiction. Remember how far you have come. Celebrate everyday and anyday. Celebrate every week, two weeks, three, weeks, 40 days, 60 days, etc. You should celebrate because you are doing right by yourself. You can celebrate by sleeping in, splurging a couple extra dollars on tickets to your favorite concert or sporting event, going out with your friends, getting a massage, going out to eat somewhere nice, etc.
