Encouraging smokers to give up cigarettes is one of the top priorities across the United Kingdom. As difficult as it may be, it is essential for public health and a fantastic saver of money!
Every smoker will be different and will quit in a different way; many may take multiple attempts until they finally snuff the habit for good. These tips will provide an overview of the different ways in which you can kick smoking out of your life and replace it with vaping – an activity that typically gives the user the nicotine they desire without the toxic tar and carbon monoxide.
Set yourself a target
There is no doubt about it; quitting smoking is tough. The Royal Society for Public Health has named it the most difficult New Year’s resolution to keep by a large distance, and no attempt at stopping is guaranteed to succeed.
This is why it is sometimes useful to set small targets that seem a whole lot more manageable than giving up all together. Although it won’t have the immediate health benefits of going “cold turkey,” reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke per week will bring about giving them up for good in a more gradual and achievable manner.
When you do attempt to quit entirely, set yourself a target of quitting for two or three days and go from there.
Quit with a friend
Much like taking up exercise, giving up cigarettes is much more achievable when not doing it alone. The added peer pressure of not caving and lighting up a smoke will encourage you to stay away and, if they are at a more advanced stage of quitting than you, they can offer you words of advice.
This may be especially useful if your friend or a family member has opted to take up vaping instead of smoking. If this is the case, they can begin to advise you on what vaping pens to use, which liquids they like and where best to buy it from.
Familiarise yourself with e-liquid
Seeking out advice and getting to know which e-liquid you like best is essential to replacing cigarettes and smoke with e-cigarettes and vapour. On an obvious level, this is because an e-liquid which you do not like the taste of is unlikely to encourage you to choose it in favour of the familiar cigarette. Still, on a deeper, more scientific level, the liquid needs to provide you with what you need to leave smoking behind.
Different liquids contain different levels of nicotine as well as a varying balance of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine – the “PG/VG ratio”. If you were to choose a liquid with a low level of nicotine in order to try and quit smoking 20 or more cigarettes a day, you are unlikely to be quashing the cravings adequately.
Familiarising yourself with the different types and trying different flavours is therefore essential.
Understand the benefits of vaping
To help convince yourself to leave cigarettes behind in favour of vaping, you must also understand why it is so beneficial.
In comparison to smoking, vaping has lower levels of nicotine and does not subject the user to the detrimental effects of tar and carbon monoxide. Generally, blood vessel health improves when vaping is taken up in favour of smoking, including having more normal blood pressure.
E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, and they are also much cheaper than smoking, saving you money as well as your health. With e-cigarette technology continuing to develop and improve, they are becoming smaller and more convenient, too.
Find additional replacements
The key to quitting smoking is usually to replace it with something else – in this case, vaping. However, alongside this, you could consider adding additional replacements.
These can include drinking water, sucking on sweets, chewing gum, and even doing exercise. When your body alerts you that it wants to smoke a cigarette, it is critical that you distract it and displace the sensation with something else, usually something that occupies your hands and mouth. This is precisely why many ex-smokers twiddle and chew pens or pencils absentmindedly.
Always note your progress
Whenever you feel like relapsing into smoking, or perhaps you have had a mini-relapse, do not forget to note your progress. Look back at how far you have come and how much healthier you feel as a result of packing in the packets.
This, theoretically, should encourage you to stay strong and power through.