New Years Resolution: Quit Smoking and Start Vaping

A New Year is here and aside from rejoicing to be out of the doomed year of 2020 and hope for renewal and relief in 2021, for many, January brings a fresh slate. “New Year, New Me”, is the motto for most as they set out to better themselves and make changes to improve on their current selves, right wrongs that may have hindered and haunted them the year prior, and to kick bad habits.

But here’s the thing about New Year’s resolutions: they need to be realistically attainable. For many, losing 150 pounds in one year is not healthy or even possible. In order to remain true to the resolution, it must be possible. With vaping, setting out your New Years resolution to quit smoking is achievable, realistic, and much easier than quitting “cold turkey.”

How Can Vaping Help Me Quit Smoking?

When you vape, you use a type of e-cigarette which is a device in which your body inhales nicotine through a vapor instead of smoke. Vaping simulates the motion and the feeling of smoking a cigarette.

Nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes that naturally occurs in tobacco. Completely stopping smoking altogether, denying your body of any nicotine can be hard on your body. When your body is going through a nicotine withdrawal, your entire body is affected, including your metabolism, brain, hormones, heart, blood vessels, and more. Not to mention, you will likely become extremely irritable during the process, which is why many give in, and kicking the habit can be difficult.

However, using a vape kit to quit smoking is effective because vapes include nicotine in the form of vapor instead of tobacco. This nicotine helps you to wean off of the nicotine you’re used to in a cigarette without the harmful effects that tobacco brings along with it. While you are managing your nicotine cravings, with a vape you can control the strength of the nicotine in the e-liquid that is inserted into the vape pen.

It is important to mention that when one becomes addicted to cigarettes, it is not only the nicotine that becomes a part of the daily routine, it is the motion, and the action of having a cigarette. With a vape, you are still completing the action, and by replacing the cigarette with the vape. At the times when you would normally have a cigarette, such as first thing in the morning, or after a meal, you can satisfy the urge for the routine by vaping. 

It should be noted that you will not benefit from the full potential of using vaping to quit smoking unless you cut out cigarette smoking altogether and replace it with vaping. Combining the two will ultimately lead you down the path to smoking cigarettes again so it’s best to do a clean switch.

Vaping Vs Smoking Cigarettes

Vaping with vape kits involves inhaling nicotine through vapor from a flavored e-liquid that generally contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, artificial and natural flavors, and your choice of the amount of nicotine. As far as flavoring goes, you can opt for flavors that remind you of real cigarettes, such as tobacco and menthol. Or, you can choose fruity and cake flavoring to switch it up.

Cigarettes have many risks, including gum disease, vision issues, blood clots, lung cancer, persistent cough, weakened immune system, and more. The tobacco in cigarettes alone contains substances that are poisonous and toxic to your health. Tobacco has tar, which can build up on your lungs and affect your breathing. It also contains carbon monoxide, which is the same substance that is found in your vehicle’s fumes. It is especially harmful because it replaces the oxygen in your bloodstream and deprives your organs of the oxygen they need to function properly. Cutting traditional tobacco cigarettes from your life is a no brainer if you care about your health and vaping can help you get there.

Is Vaping Safe?

For starters, the e-liquid present in vape kits does not contain any of the harmful components of tobacco, such as, lead, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, or even uranium which is sometimes present in the fertilizers used in the fertilization of tobacco plants.

While there is not as much research done on the topic in comparison to tobacco cigarettes, according to Public Health England, vapes are about 95% less harmful than tobacco. The long term effects are not yet reported, but vaping eradicates all traces of tobacco. With much lower levels of toxins and chemicals than found in traditional cigarettes, vapes provide a way to inhale nicotine while reducing the number and volume of toxins you inhale into your body.

How to Transition from Cigarettes to Vaping

As previously noted, if you are transitioning to vaping to eradicate the habit of cigarette smoking, continuing to smoke cigarettes while vaping will not be effective. This is only counterproductive. For some, the transition is easy. They simply are able to pick up the vape, take a puff, and then be done with the cigarettes all together - in the garbage the cigarettes go! For others, it may not be as simple. 

Realistically, vaping requires a bit more maintenance than just taking a smoke out of the pack and lighting it. You will need to insert the e-liquid, determine the amount of nicotine, pick your flavoring, and refill the e-liquid as you go. 

Adjusting to this, along with some other things that could come along with the switch may take a bit to get used to. Sometimes, those who choose vaping can develop a dry mouth from the vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol in the e-liquid. Some may also develop a cough at first because the vapour in the vape is thicker and heavier than the cigarette smoke they are used to. These types of side effects vary from person to person and generally subside once you’re used to vaping.

To quit smoking, vaping is an option that is effective, as it leaves you accountable and your progress is certainly realistic and measurable. You get to determine your progress along the way, you can control the amount of nicotine and dial it down over time if you wish, and you have the opportunity to quit smoking entirely without enduring nicotine withdrawals and without the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. If you are ready to ditch the habit this year, give vaping a try.