How I Quit Vaping After 4 Years: A Personal Story

I started vaping in 2021 thinking it was no big deal. Four years and countless failed quit attempts later, I finally broke free. Here's my story—the real version, including the parts that aren't pretty.

How It Started

Like a lot of people, I picked up vaping at a party. A friend handed me their device, I took a hit, and I remember thinking, "Oh, this is nice." Within a week I had my own. Within a month I was going through pods faster than I wanted to admit.

I told myself all the usual things: it's not like cigarettes, I can quit whenever I want, it's helping me with stress. Classic addict thinking, but I didn't recognize it at the time.

The Denial Phase

For the first two years, I didn't even consider quitting. Vaping was just part of my identity—something I did when I woke up, after meals, during work breaks, before bed. My whole day was organized around nicotine.

I'd get anxious if my battery was low. I'd leave social events to vape in my car. I once turned around 20 minutes into a road trip because I forgot my device. But somehow, I still didn't think I had a problem.

The Wake-Up Call

My wake-up call wasn't dramatic. I didn't have a health scare or an intervention. I just did the math one day and realized I'd spent over $4,000 on vaping in a single year. That's when it clicked: I wasn't choosing to vape—I had to vape.

Around the same time, I noticed my resting heart rate was elevated, I was short of breath climbing stairs, and my anxiety was worse than ever. I started connecting the dots.

Failed Attempts (Lots of Them)

My first quit attempt lasted 6 hours. Seriously. By the afternoon I was so irritable and anxious that I convinced myself it wasn't worth it and bought a new pod.

Over the next year, I tried probably a dozen times:

• Cold turkey: Failed multiple times—couldn't handle the intensity
• Cutting back: Would reduce for a few days then compensate with bigger hits
• Switching to lower nicotine: Just ended up vaping more often
• Nicotine gum: Used it for a week, then went back to vaping while chewing gum

Each failure made me feel more hopeless. I started to believe I was just weak, that I'd be addicted forever.

What Finally Worked

The quit that stuck was different. Here's what changed:

1. I Got Educated

I spent a week reading everything I could about nicotine addiction—not scary health articles, but the actual science of how addiction works. Understanding that cravings were time-limited and that my brain would heal gave me hope.

2. I Prepared Properly

Instead of impulsively throwing away my vape, I set a quit date two weeks out. I told friends and family. I downloaded a quit app. I stocked up on gum, snacks, and distractions. I took the first few days off work.

3. I Changed My Mindset

This was the biggest shift. Instead of "I'm giving up something I enjoy," I reframed it as "I'm breaking free from something that controls me." I wasn't losing vaping—I was gaining freedom.

4. I Rode Out the Waves

When cravings hit, I didn't fight them. I just observed them and reminded myself they'd pass. I'd tell myself: "This is my brain healing. This feeling is temporary. I can handle 5 more minutes."

The First Week

I won't sugarcoat it—the first week was brutal. Day 3 was the worst. I was irritable, unfocused, and exhausted. I snapped at my partner. I went to bed at 8 PM just to make the day end.

But I also tracked every craving in my app, and by day 5, they were getting shorter and less intense. By day 7, I started having hours where I didn't think about vaping at all. That was everything.

The First Month

Weeks 2-4 were easier but not easy. Cravings still popped up, especially:

• After meals
• When drinking alcohol (I avoided it for the first month)
• When stressed at work
• Late at night

But they were manageable. I was sleeping better, my anxiety was actually decreasing (which blew my mind), and I had so much more energy. My resting heart rate dropped 15 BPM.

Where I Am Now

It's been 8 months. I don't crave nicotine anymore. The thought of vaping seems bizarre—like, why would I put myself through that again?

The benefits have been massive:

• Saved over $1,500
• Anxiety significantly reduced
• Sleep quality dramatically better
• No more planning my day around nicotine
• Breathing easier during exercise
• Proud of myself for the first time in years

What I'd Tell Someone Starting Their Quit

1. It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it. The difficulty is the price of freedom.
2. Failed attempts aren't wasted. Each one teaches you something. I needed those failures to figure out what would work.
3. The timeline is real. Day 3 is peak misery. Week 2 is turning the corner. Month 1 is a new normal. Trust the process.
4. Your brain is lying to you. When it says "just one hit," it's the addiction talking, not you.
5. It gets so much better. The other side is worth every difficult moment.