"Ever since I was a little kid, I knew that I would try smoking. I am from a family of smokers. I grew up with a natural love for the smell and the way that it looked. However, after 16 years of cigarette addiction, I gave up. It was my third attempt at stopping, which was only made possible by one thing. Here’s how vaping helped me quit.
Filling the void
Every smoker has times when they habitually reach for a cigarette. Talking to people down the pub, walking to the train station for the morning commute, taking a break at work - these are the times when I had failed to quit on previous attempts. Vaping was a great replacement for these moments. I used to think that I wanted to go cold turkey but I eventually realised that there’s no shame in wanting nicotine, especially when you’re quitting.
Saving money
A big turning point for me was realising how much money I could save by switching to vaping. When I decided I was going to try quitting on the third attempt, I wrote down how much I spent on smoking. At the time (2015), I smoked a pack a day. Here’s what I found:
Smoking cost
Smoking cost for a day - £9
The cost for a week - £63
Monthly cost - £252
Total cost to smoke for a year - £3,024
Vaping costs
E-liquid cost for a day - £1.29
Cost for e-liquid a week - £9
E-liquid cost for a month - £36
E-liquid cost for a year - £432
My first vape device - £40
Coils cost for a year - £336
Total cost to vape for a year - £768
Total savings to switch for a year - £2,256!
It was difficult for myself to come to terms with the fact that I was spending that much money on cigarettes but once you’ve got it written down on paper, you can’t argue with the numbers. Whilst the prices will be different now, the fact remains that there are enormous savings to be made by switching.
Removing social pressure
One thing that I really struggled with when I had tried to quit on previous occasions without vaping, was sitting inside whilst my friends and family were smoking. I spent too many minutes alone in pubs, restaurants and cafes that I ended up caving into cigarettes again. Vaping gave me the opportunity to not be left out without having to smoke. Admittedly, I stand a little further away from smokers than I used to but I still get to feel a part of everything.
Avoiding slip-ups
It is incredibly difficult to give up smoking and even easier to have a moment of weakness that sends you back to square one. Anybody that tried to quit will know that having ‘one crafty fag’ after a bad day at work or when you’ve had too much to drink, never stays that way. It’ll become a couple on the weekends and then you’ll find yourself buying a fresh pack on a Monday morning. It’s much harder to avoid nicotine altogether than to have a vape and avoid moments of weakness.
If you’re looking to give up smoking, I cannot stress enough how much of a difference vaping will make to your journey. I smoked for 16 years and only managed to quit on my third attempt with the help of vaping. It helped me realise that whilst I wasn’t ready to give up nicotine, I was definitely strong enough to give up cigarettes. I still vape 5 years after quitting smoking and would recommend it to anyone that relates to my story."
