Quit smoking isn’t easy for anyone that has been smoking for years or relies on the practice to find a sense of stress relief. However, it is possible with the right alternatives.
Vaping has increased in popularity over the years as it gives previous smokers the opportunity to reduce their nicotine intake and in some cases, quit smoking altogether.
Today, this guide will help you find out more about vaping, its potential benefits, and how and why to transition from smoking to vaping.
What Is Vaping?
Vaping is the inhalation and exhalation of an aerosol/vapor, which mimics the concept of smoking. Instead of inhaling tobacco chemicals, you inhale vapor through an e-liquid. A vape is essentially an electronic cigarette, which is why many people choose vapes as an effective alternative to smoking.
The e-liquid in a vape is transformed into water vapor using an atomizer and a battery, which heats up the liquid until it changes into a vapor, which you then inhale and exhale.
Most vapes mimic the design of a cigarette or lighter and are of a similar size.
Why Quit Smoking?
Whether or not you are a smoker, you will likely already know many reasons to quit smoking. To re-assess the reason and inform you of reasons to quit smoking that you might not know about, here is why you should quit smoking:
- Improves your cardiovascular health. Smoking can cause all kinds of cardiovascular diseases due to the 7,000 + toxins that are within tobacco. Vapes and e-liquids contain chemicals too, yet none are proven to be toxic.
- Healthier blood vessels. The carbon monoxide content in cigarettes causes the blood vessels to constrict. You can achieve healthier blood vessels by stopping smoking tobacco substances.
- Lung improvements. Smokers will likely have reduced lung health and capacity, which can cause cancers and various other illnesses. This can be due to the thousands of toxins. Therefore, consuming fewer toxins can help your lungs to breathe and repair. However, it is important to know that vaping can damage the lungs, due to the chemicals present. Therefore, if you don’t smoke or vape, you can attain healthier lungs by avoiding both practices.
- Less coughing. If you are someone that coughs regularly and isn’t sure why it could be down to your smoking. After a few months of quitting smoking, you will likely notice a significant reduction in your coughing.
- Reduced risk of heart disease. Smokers are highly vulnerable to heart disease, heart attacks, and more. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of heart disease after a couple of years of quitting.
- Reduced risk of cancers. Smoking can cause various cancers from the lung and heart to the mouth and throat. Therefore, quitting smoking can make you less vulnerable to cancer.
Is Vaping Better For You?
Now, you might wonder if vaping is actually better for you. There is a lot of talk about the pros and cons of vaping. Therefore, it is important to know the ins and outs of vaping and whether or not it comes with risks.
Vaping can cause certain risks, such as:
- May trigger inflammation. The chemicals found within e-liquids, which are used in vapes, may trigger inflammation in some people.
- May hinder oral health. Due to e-liquids containing chemicals, it can cause a buildup of bacteria, which can hinder your oral health.
- May damage lung health. Should you not smoke or vape already, starting to vape may cause damage to your lungs because of the chemicals inside the e-liquid.
Although there are some potential risks of vaping, there are not as many risks as smoking. Likewise, the risks are not as fatal or damaging.
Therefore, vaping can be considered better for you than vaping as it cannot cause as much damage to your overall health. It is much safer for your health to inhale e-liquids with limited nicotine than to inhale heavy nicotine from tobacco substances.
The Benefits Of Vaping
Speaking about the cons of vaping will likely have you wondering what the benefits of vaping are. The key benefits of vaping, which are vapers can obtain, include:
- Save money. Vaping typically costs less than smoking due to the tools incurring a one-time expense. Plus, e-liquids will last longer than a pack of cigarettes (depending on how much you vape). Therefore, you can reduce your costs.
- You will inhale fewer toxins. Smoking causes everyone to inhale 7,000 or more toxins with every cigarette. Vaping consists of much fewer toxins, making it a safer and healthier alternative to smoking.
- Can help you quit smoking. You will be happy to know that vaping can be beneficial for quitting smoking, which is the reason many people take up vaping.
How To Transition From Smoking To Vaping
Should you want to reap the benefits of transitioning from smoking to vaping yourself, here is all that you need to know about how to transition.
Decide why you want to quit smoking
Before you quit smoking as use vaping as an alternative, you will want to decide why you want to quit. If you are unsure yet know you want to transition, that’s great. Yet, having a reason set in your mind will help you stay focused on your goal. Some reasons to quit smoking include:
- Improving your overall health.
- Increase your lifespan.
- Help your close friends and family avoid second-hand smoking.
- Save money.
Understand the benefits of switching to vaping
This guide will help you understand the benefits of switching to vaping. However, acknowledging these and envisioning them will encourage you to give up smoking for good. Understanding the benefits along with knowing why you want to quit will give you a clear path to quitting smoking and maintaining the journey.
Set yourself a switching date
It will help to have a specific switching date when you quit smoking. Otherwise, you might continue to smoke a little alongside vaping, which is not what you want if you want to improve your health, save money, and more.
Therefore, set a switching date so that you know when your last cigarette will be. You can get yourself physically and mentally prepared.
Buy yourself a kit in advance
You will want a vaping kit by your side for the day that you quit. Therefore, it is essential to buy yourself a kit in advance of the quit date. This will ensure that you have a vape to help you with your quitting journey.
Likewise, ensure to try out the vape and e-liquid ahead of your quitting date so that you know you will find fulfilment from it. Otherwise, you might lack enjoyment and satisfaction and give into smoking again.
Vape the right e-liquids
When you get yourself a vape, you will need the right e-liquids to make the vaping experience satisfactory. The right e-liquids for you will be those that align with your needs and preferences.
For instance, some people might prefer certain flavours and/or strengths. Furthermore, some people might require a higher nicotine concentration.
Over time, hopefully, you can reduce your nicotine concentration to eliminate it altogether.
Use the right vape
Likewise, the right vape will enhance your vaping experience and help you maintain your quitting journey.
There are several types of vapes to choose from.
- Vape mods.
- Vape pens.
- Cig-a-likes.
- Vape pods.
Enjoying your vape will help you stay on track with your journey, which is key if you want to avoid smoking again in the future.
You can create your own vape, which is called a vape mod. This can help you create something to give you complete satisfaction, which could make the transition easier. However, you might want to trial various vape options before to see what does and doesn’t work for you.
Keep your vape close by
Having urges to smoke will occur to those who smoke regularly. Therefore, you will need something to rely on when those urges occur. Hence, having a vape close by at all times will ensure that you stay on track and don’t give into smoking again.
Slowly reduce the nicotine in your vape
You could potentially eliminate your nicotine intake overall with vaping as many e-liquids contain zero nicotine. Knowing this may encourage you to switch in the first place, as you may not want to be addicted to nicotine anymore.
Over time, you might find fulfillment from flavours as opposed to nicotine. Therefore, you can choose various flavours while reducing the nicotine concentration in your e-liquid.
Learn to vape properly
To attain a similar enjoyable sensation from vaping, it will help to vape properly. This simply means finding the right vaping technique for you. There are two vaping methods:
- Mouth to lung (MTL): whereby you inhale the vapor and hold it in your mouth before exhaling.
- Direct to lung (DTL): direct to lung involves bypassing the mouth and inhaling the vape directly to the lungs, which regular smokers might find more satisfaction from.
Choosing the vaping technique to suit your needs will ensure that you find satisfaction and fulfilment from vaping.
Don’t focus on the look of the vape
Focusing on the look of the vape is not necessary as vaping isn’t practiced to look cool. Instead, it is used to help people quit smoking and find a way to relax. Therefore, choose a vape depending on how you use it and how it fits into your lifestyle to get the most enjoyment out of it.
Be patient
You might not find complete satisfaction from your first vaping experience. But it is important to know to be patient as you will slowly learn to find fulfillment from it.
Find out how much nicotine you need
Depending on how much you smoke, you might require different levels of nicotine. The general advice is:
- 1 to 5 cigarettes per day = 0.6%
- 5 to 15 cigarettes per day = 1.0%
- 15 to 20 cigarettes per day = 1.4%
- 20+ cigarettes per day = 1.8%
The stronger the nicotine is in your vape, the easier you might be able to maintain vaping instead of smoking.
Finding A Vape For You
Everyone will have their own preference when it comes to vaping. There are various styles available:
- Vape mods. These are customised and modified vapes. People modify their vapes to control the vapour and make them more stylish.
- Vape pens. These mimic a cigarette due to their shape. They are easy to carry around and great for beginners.
- Cig-a-likes. These mimic a cigarette the most, due to their shape and size. They are ideal for people wanting something similar to a cigarette. It will feel the most familiar and might make the transition easier.
- Vape pods. Vape pods look similar to a lighter, which makes them very easy to carry around.
In conclusion
It is possible for smokers (regular or not) to transition from smoking to vaping. Considering the benefits of vaping, it can be encouraging to choose to vape as an alternative to smoking.
There are multiple health reasons to quit smoking. If you want to improve your overall health, save money, and extend your lifespan, you might want to consider quitting smoking for good. It can be difficult to quit smoking if you have been smoking for some time. However, you can obtain nicotine from vapes, so the transition can feel a lot easier than quitting smoking altogether.
There are some risks that come with vaping. Yet, they are minimal in comparison to smoking tobacco.
Ensure to choose the right vape, e-liquid, and vaping technique before you transition and quit smoking. Otherwise, you might easily fall back into smoking again. You need to enjoy vaping and find fulfilment from vaping to maintain it and not give into smoking again.