Decided to quit smoking with vaping?
You’re not alone. In the United States, more than 9 million adults vape and it’s becoming a trending hobby these days. The idea that you can quit smoking with vaping grows with more people verifying how effective it is.
That said, you can’t quit smoking overnight, regardless of how efficient vaping can be.
There’s no denying that the sensation is different. The chemicals involved aren’t the same either.
Vaping to stop smoking involves more than you’d expect. It’s not like switching from one cigarette brand to another.
Don’t fret! There are ways to get a head start. To help you quit smoking with vaping, here are some tips to keep in mind and it all starts with juggling vape and cigarettes at the same time.
Don’t Quit Cigarettes Abruptly
Yes, you read that right. Even if the plan is to quit smoking with vaping, you shouldn’t throw away all your cigarettes from the get-go.
The best way to think of this is to look at people addicted to alcohol or illegal drugs. When they don’t have access to the substance for a long period, they experience excruciating withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms can manifest as headaches, hallucinations, physical body pain, and depression. If you’ve smoked cigarettes for a majority of your life, you may suffer these symptoms too.
One good way to work around this is to keep cigarettes even when you turn to vaping. If you smoke ten sticks a day, you could reduce this to only seven sticks. For the remaining three sticks, vape instead.
As the days and weeks go by, increase the times you vape while reducing the times you use a traditional cigarette.
It’s a slow, gradual shift from tobacco cigarettes to modern vaping juices. Through this routine, the shift won’t feel jarring. By doing this, you’ll accustom your mind and body to the changes.
Maintain Muscle Memory
Smoking is more than about the nicotine addiction. For some people, reaching for a stick is as natural as breathing. The motions of picking up a stick, putting it between their lips, and sucking in the smoke become a habit or a mannerism that they can’t shake off.
The effort to maintain muscle memory with a cig-a-like device combats the withdrawal symptoms from excessive smoking. Some of the physical symptoms include:
- Tingling in the hands
- Craving for nicotine
- Coughing
- A sore throat
One good way to address when you want to quit smoking with vaping is to find a vape kit that allows you to maintain this motion or muscle memory. There are multiple kinds of vaping devices – more on those below – but the most common is the cig-a-like, also known as the mini e-cigarette.
Because they look so much like a real cigarette, it will feel more natural using them each time you feel the need to smoke. Reaching for them and vaping with these devices will feel a little different but at least you can satisfy the need to hold a stick and puff on something.
Getting the Right Device
Determined to quit smoking with vaping? As mentioned above, one important factor to consider is getting the right device. Most beginners start with a cig-a-like but there are two other types of devices.
First off, cig-a-likes look like traditional cigarettes and this is why so many choose to start there.
As stated, they can help the body deal with the muscle memory of smoking a stick using these devices but at the same time cut down on nicotine intake. If you feel ashamed in front of other smokers, a cig-a-like is a good option too because most people won’t notice it’s an electronic device unless they give it a closer look.
Then you have vape pens, which are the mid-sized devices. They’re bigger than cig-a-likes and resemble cigars in some cases. There are two main benefits when you choose to use vape pens over cig-a-likes:
- All the parts are replaceable
- More control over vape juices and nicotine concentration
You can replace the coils if they burn out, try different flavors without using multiple pens, and you can increase or reduce how much nicotine there is. They also have a stronger battery, meaning you only have to bring one vape pen with you.
The last type is the mod. Mods are bigger because they put all the device parts in one case. The biggest benefits here include having a longer-lasting battery and again, most customization options.
Finding the Right Vape Juice
Got the type of vaping device to suit your smoking style?
The next step for you to quit smoking with vaping is to find the right vape juice. E-liquids come in all different forms and flavors. Some come with other chemicals like CBD oil, an extract from hemp plants, while others feature exotic flavors like the Rubber Ducky or Kaluai.
Not sure about picking a flavor? You can always start with the basic tobacco-flavored juice. It’s familiar and you can move away from it at a gradual pace. The next step from there is to try single-blend flavors.
These are flavors without any exotic mixes. If you get a chocolate-flavored e-liquid, there won’t be any other taste except for chocolate. It’s that simple.
Going beyond that are the mixed blends and flavors that contain a blast of mint. These can feel jarring and a little peculiar at first, especially if you go for something like a cocktail mix blend as your initial purchase.
You’ll find juices that taste like meals, candy, and shakes. Make it a habit to try different ones to find the one that hits the right spot.
However, that’s not all there is to find the right vape juice. You also have to look into how much nicotine there is and the balance between propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG).
Nicotine Balance
The nicotine in traditional cigarettes isn’t the compound killing you. Yes, it does have negative effects like a burning sensation in the lungs and it makes smoking addicting but there are two bigger threats.
Carbon monoxide and tar are the two main reasons why cigarettes are deadly. Carbon monoxide in cigarettes replaces oxygen in the bloodstream. This means the organs in your body, including the brain, don’t get enough oxygen to function.
Tar, on the other hand, sticks to the lungs. It makes it difficult for your lungs to function. Again, this means they have to work twice as hard to supply oxygen.
When you quit smoking with vaping, you instantly eliminate those two from the equation. That doesn’t mean you remove nicotine and the truth is you shouldn’t pull it out. After all, it’s one of the reasons why you got addicted to smoking in the first place.
As you buy vape juice, make sure to look at how much nicotine you get. Too little nicotine won’t satisfy you and the craving could tempt you to reach for a cigarette. Too much nicotine and the kick is too strong, again making way for the temptation to rise and cause you to get a cigarette you’re accustomed to.
It’s this balance in nicotine levels that you have to look out for.
The average person goes with e-liquid that contains 12-18mL of nicotine. This is an appropriate amount to quit smoking with vaping because it’s not too much but neither is it too little and negligible. If nothing else, you can use this amount as a baseline and then make adjustments from there.
One last note: you can find e-liquids with no nicotine. These are for people who already weaned off nicotine and prefer to vape for the muscle sensation, flavors, and vapor tricks.
PG/VG Ratio
PG and VG are the bases of vape e-liquid. These are the ones responsible for vaporizing the liquid into visible smoke. Both PG and VG also help carry the flavor and provide a familiar “smoking hit” to the throat and mouth.
While similar, they have key differences that will affect your vaping experience. Want to quit smoking with vaping? It may boil down to finding the right ratio between PG and VG in the e-liquid you buy.
Vape juices with higher PG provide a stronger flavor but the downside is they don’t vaporize much. This means you won’t get enough smoke to do vaping tricks like smoke rings. PG also provides a stronger hit to the throat and better emulates the sensation of traditional tobacco smoking.
PG is a petroleum-based product. It’s not toxic to humans but it is toxic to cats.
VG, on the other hand, comes from vegetable oil. It creates a smoother hit and makes much more vapor for you to play around with and do tricks. VG also has a sweeter taste but it also means you won’t taste the artificial flavor as much as you would with a higher PG ratio.
For beginners, picking juice with a 50/50 ratio is a good start. You can determine which of the two bases work best for you and then focus on e-liquids that favor one over the other.
Join a Community
Not sure if you can quit smoking with vaping? If you have doubts or if you attempted this before and failed, it might be because you’re doing it on your own.
Don’t face smoking addiction by yourself. Join a community.
There is a reason why groups like Alcoholics Anonymous exist. Group therapies are popular choices for people who have an addiction to some form of substance or activity. You may find it easier to quit smoking with vaping when you spend time with people going through the same things you are.
If joining a public community and discussing smoking addiction with strangers isn’t for you, seek out friends or relatives who can support you. If you have friends who also quit smoking with vaping then get together to learn more.
Another good thing about joining a community or sticking with a knowledgeable friend is they can help with buying the right vape kit. A buying guide works fine but their expertise can help point you to a niche flavor or vaping device that caters to your specific needs.
Vape, Don’t Smoke
Even though the act of vaping is similar to smoking a cigarette, there are some differences. If you want to get the most out of the experience and dedicate time to quit smoking with vaping, you have to understand these subtle changes.
Vaping involves slower, longer puffs. This is a big contrast to smoking since traditional cigarettes require you to puff harder in order to get a stronger nicotine kick.
Puffing hard on a vape pen won’t get you better results. Short and hard puffs will only leave you unsatisfied. It may even discourage you from vaping and make you go back to regular cigarettes.
Avoid this by making a conscious decision to vape differently. The next time you vape, remember to focus on slower puffs. Let the vapor linger and gather before you inhale, allowing your body to absorb the vapor at its full potential.
Experiment with Everything
One final tip to help you quit smoking with vaping is to experiment.
There are tons of different e-liquid flavors, different kinds of devices, and different balances between PG/VG ratios and nicotine concentrations. It’s almost impossible to find the right combination with your first try.
If your first attempt at vaping didn’t turn out great, don’t feel discouraged. It might mean you didn’t use the right device or the PG/VG ratio wasn’t suited to your tastes. It’s possible the flavor didn’t feel right or there wasn’t enough nicotine to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
Take some time to experiment and adjust. It might take a few tries to discover what combination works right for you.
Quit Smoking with Vaping Today
Yes, you can drop the habit of smoking. Yes, even after you quit smoking with vaping you can still hold on to your kit. You can continue vaping due to the habit of holding something up to your mouth or maybe because you love the flavors and the tricks you can do with vapor.
Decided to give it a try? Ready to quit smoking and turn to the safer, more engaging alternative?
Never hesitate to contact us! We provide some of the best e-liquids and we can help you pick one that caters to your habits, needs, and goals. Don’t wait further and quit smoking with vaping today!
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