Navigating the Journey to Quit Smoking: Insights on Vaping and Alternatives

In a recent research, it was found that around 6.4 million people in the UK smoked cigarettes, making it around 13% of the total population. Smoking remains a significant health issue among the public.

Despite knowing the impact of smoking on health and its significant harmful impacts, many smokers find it extremely difficult to overcome their smoking habits. 

Vaping has appeared to be one of the best alternatives for smoking. It resembles the best with smoking cigarettes and provides smoking feels with fewer harmful substances. 

Understanding Nicotine And Smoking Addiction

Nicotine is a well-known substance that is harmful and is found in most of the tobacco products. 

What is Nicotine?

Nicotine is a well-known harmful and addictive substance that has been misused for decades. Even with its popularity for a long time, the side effects of this substance just can not be overlooked. 

Due to its combustible property, it releases multiple harmful substances into the environment, affecting you and the people around you.  

Smoking has been linked to reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. However, many people with these disorders are found to be more prone to smoking. The smoking trends are 40% higher in the population with a mental health condition than the healthier population. The current situation raises significant questions about the viability and safety of smoking.

Why Does Smoking Feel Relaxing? 

Many smokers associate smoking with the feeling of being relaxed. Smoking is considered an anti-stress resource for many. 

In reality, it is the cravings that smoking satisfies and gives a sense of pleasure. Once you smoke, the nicotine enters the bloodstream immediately and travels to the brain. Nicotine stimulates the dopamine receptors and releases dopamine, which leads to relaxation. Once the dopamine wears off, the urge to return to a relaxed state increases twice, and the cycle continues. It’s often time known as the nicotine dependency cycle

Let’s examine the entire situation from a more sensible perspective. We may arrive at a more precise understanding that smoking itself is stress and anxiety-inducing. The relief you get is temporary. Long-term usage can instead exacerbate multiple health conditions. 

Vaping As An Alternative To Smoking

Vaping is considered to be a rising force that has been helping many people quit smoking. Some people are willing to quit smoking due to its harmful effects. However, only about 6% are successful in quitting smoking. 

All vapes are mainly constructed on the principle that liquid matter, also known as vape juice or e-liquid, is converted into aerosol vapours by heating from the vaper’s inhale coil.

Is vaping actually a safe option?

Vaping is one of the ongoing research topics in today’s world. However, concluding many pieces of research that have been done yet, it is evident that vaping is a healthier option than smoking, considering many factors such as combustion, passive smoking, composition, and wastage. 

Although these vapes contain aerosol vapors, they are considered less harmful because of less potentially toxic substances; hence, vapes can be a better alternative to smoking, and a person can opt for vapes. 

How does it help with breaking nicotine addiction?

Vapes provide you with an option to control your nicotine intake; with variable possibilities that are in your control, vaping gives you a sense of control. 

The nicotine in the vapes is completely extracted from the tobacco plant and is mixed with many different acids. Hence, you’re saved from tobacco combustion, too. 

What Are The Alternative To Vaping?

There exist many alternatives to vaping. Some include different types of therapy, such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and aromatherapy. Others include some menthol chewable like lozenges and some natural vape alternatives. 

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

These use pure nicotine as a replacement for nicotine addiction. NRT products come in different forms, and you can choose from patches, gums, inhalers, lozenges, or even nasal sprays with nicotine components. 

Natural Vape Alternatives

There exist many natural alternatives to smoking and vaping. Some of them include aromatherapy, herbal remedies, and lifestyle changes. 

• Herbal Remedies- many fruits are known to have properties that make you overcome addiction and nicotine dependence. 
• Behavioral therapy- behavior therapy is proven to work with any form of smoking cessation. One-on-one counseling, teletherapy, and even support groups can help you with your cessation. 
• Yoga- helps by creating awareness about the self, giving you more control over your body, and fighting the urges that may arise due to cravings. 
• Essential oils and diffusers- Many essential oils produce calming effects on the body. Using them in diffusers mimics the sensory feelings you get from vapes. The vapors give you a relaxing feeling that relates more to vapes. 

Understanding The Process

Quitting smoking is itself a complicated procedure that requires a lot of perseverance from the individual. Understanding the steps and stages you might go through during your cessation process is essential.

Stages Of Quitting Vapes

The whole process of quitting smoking can easily be divided into four parts. We will understand each step by discussing potential triggers and their resolution. 

1. Preparation Phase

In the preparation phase, the individual might have heightened levels of anxiety. The thought of taking the first step is the most anxiety-provoking. More than half of the people who decide to quit face relapse in this step. There might be social pressure, too, if you have a community where people openly smoke. 

It is crucial to create a solid and easy-to-follow plan. Once you have decided, take a step back and give yourself and your body time to adjust. However, do not prolong it. Give yourself small deadlines for each step so you feel accomplished. 

Social support comes in handy when fighting environmental triggers. You can get support from your family and friends and announce your smoking cessation decision. 

2. Action Phase

The action phase requires you to take the action in actuality. Stopping the cravings and indulging in things that can keep you away from vapes. This is the phase where nicotine cravings will be higher than usual. The boredom can also trigger the urge to smoke. 

The change in emotional and mental state is a significant drawback as it leaves the individual back in the smoking phase. The stress and anxiety levels significantly rise, too. 

Sticking to the NRT techniques that work for you better is essential. The use of behavior techniques of forced delaying can be helpful as the cravings usually last for 5-10 minutes, and all the nicotine cravings last for about 2-3 weeks. 

3. Maintenance Phase

The maintenance phase includes long-term control over the cravings. Using NTR, you can still feel the side effects, but they are more manageable while using NTR than without.

You might still feel nausea, dizziness, insomnia, headaches. Competency can serve as a factor of relapse; hence, keep an eye out. Any significant life changes can also trigger the urge to smoke. 

Understanding the triggers can help you manage them. You can plan ahead of time and be better able to manage when faced with the trigger itself. 

4. Relapse Prevention

In the relapse prevention phase, you might face challenges that trigger the urges, too. By this time, the period of cravings has been reduced, leaving you more in control of your body. However, an environmental cue can still be a weakness, and any slip-on can have a considerable impact. 

Conclusion 

Quitting smoking can itself be a challenging but advantageous decision. Nicotine dependency is often the reason for going in loops when trying to quit smoking. Understanding the cycle and breaking it is crucial. 

Vapes serve as one of the best alternatives that mimic the feeling of smoking. However, there exist multiple options to choose from, such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NTR)), aromatherapy, or behavioral therapy. 

The whole process of quitting requires a lot of resistance, and all the phases have multiple triggers that can be overcome using different strategies.