You are standing in line, with your coffee and a snack. You have quit smoking for about three months now by using vaping, and you couldn’t have felt better about yourself. The next thing you know, you are sitting in your car and lighting up a cigarette. And you don’t know what happened.
This is unfortunately an all too familiar story that we are hearing. People are actually quitting smoking, but will go back to it. When they do it, they then will try to hide it. They become the closet smoker, sneaking off to have a cigarette, but vaping in front of other people because they don’t want them to know.
For most this is the reason that they wanted to quit in the first place. They were tired of having to hide their habit, and were looking for a way out. But here they are again, sneaking around, trying to cover up the smell. But for all the perfume and gum out there, the only thing that actually gets the cigarette smell out is completely quitting. It sticks to everything. Your clothes, your hair, your teeth; it really is everywhere and there is nothing you can do to change it.
And this is why you need to be aware of the threat that 3 months poses. For a reason that we have not quite figured out, right around three months after making the switch, people will sometimes struggle to get past it. They will find a reason to return to smoking. It seems that when people think that they have the habit kicked, is when this phenomenon is happening.
So if you think that you are going to have trouble around this mark, there are a number of things that you can try, so you don’t become the closet smoker again.
- Don’t reduce your nicotine level down too quickly.
For most people after they quit smoking and start living their life without cigarettes, they want to also start lowering their nicotine level. While this is highly encouraged and recommended, you also have to know yourself well enough. For some people, once they kick the habit of smoking, they can quit nicotine altogether, but most of us will take a little while longer to actually work ourselves down the nicotine scale until we are on zero. Even then, quit the habit of vaping can take some time. Don’t go too quickly.
- If you are struggling, talk to people in your life who don’t smoke.
Each one of us has people that hated the nasty habit of smoking. They have always wanted us to quit, and now that we have, they are so happy for us. They really are, I promise! Talk to them about your struggles, there is no shame in it. Don’t hide it from them because that is the first step to going back to smoking. They care and will help you through it.
- Make sure you take your vape everywhere.
It may seem trivial, but if you are struggling to get through cravings, you need to have the reinforcements on your side. If you don’t, it becomes way too easy to walk in to the convenience store and buy a pack. And then all your good work of the last few months gets torn down, and you start from day one again. You do not want that.
- Go hang out at your vape shop.
There are people at these shops that are either at the stage that you are, or they have been through it. The vape community is one of the most inclusive communities around, and they won’t hesitate to listen to you and give you advice on how to get through the struggle. Just having people tell you that it will pass as long as you stay the course, is a huge help. It is actually the main function of a vape shop if you think about it. It brings people together who are all on the same path of quitting smoking.
As you can see, there are somethings that you can do to help yourself, but the biggest one is moral support! If you have someone telling you that you can do it, that you are strong enough, it becomes easier. Find your quitting buddy, hold each other accountable, and watch as your life continues to change for the better.
Be a Quitter! It's perfectly okay.
We would love to hear your quitting stories, so post them below!
