Plan ahead! Work out a plan that suits you.  The NHS provide lots of quitting services to help you with face to face support and groups you can join. You can use these services if you are switching to vaping as a way to quit. The NHS support this approach and their research proved that you are twice as likely to quit using an e-cigarette with support than just will power alone.¹

Write down 3 reasons you want to quit smoking. Print it out. Put it on the fridge door, on your desk at work, in the car … wherever you mostly smoke (or snack).

Come to terms with the fact that the first week will be tough. Enlist the support of your family and friends.

Set a date! Add it to your calendar, tell everyone you know that’s the day have chosen to quit. You will be amazed how supportive people will be – even your smoker friends.

Cravings are coming! You will get them so plan for it. Have healthy snacks ready, get up and move around when a craving hits. Drink water … you’ll be surprised how often just drinking water will stop the craving. Carry a bottle of water around with you if you’re out and about.

Think about how you’ll deal with tempting situations and what you’ll say if a friend, relative or work colleague invites you to have a cigarette. You could say: “No thanks, I don’t smoke,” or: “Haven’t you heard, I’ve stopped smoking!”

Speak to your Doctor, local pharmacy team or local NHS Stop Smoking Service about stop smoking medicines to help you deal with nicotine cravings if you want to quit Nicotine as well as smoking.

Reference: NHS Smoke Free Service Guidelines

Not necessarily. The trick is being prepared and understanding what quitting will feel like.

When you stop smoking combustible tobacco your body begins to heal. Within a surprisingly short time your sense of taste and appetite can improve. Suddenly food tastes and smells better … cue rumbling tummy. Nicotine can also act as a mild appetite suppressant, so if you cut back on the amount of Nicotine you might also notice that you’re feeling hungrier.

But probably the main reason people gain weight after quitting smoking, is the onset of the fidgets. A large part of the habit of smoking is the physical act of smoking. You may have heard it referred to as an oral fixation. When you quit your body is adjusting and the addiction centre of your brain is looking to fill a gap (NOW). For a lot of people, when they start to feel restless and the fidgets kick in, they satisfy the urge with food.

One of the many reasons switching to vaping to help you quit works is that you can replace the act of smoking with an e-cigarette – giving your restless mind and hands something to focus on that isn’t food.

It’s easier to be ready when you understand what’s coming along. If you want to avoid putting on weight, be ready with a strategy to beat the urge to eat.

Be prepared:

Line up tasty, healthy snacks – hide the sweeties and crisps. Take a healthy snack with you when you go out.

Think about your cravings for Nicotine. Are you a heavy smoker? Maybe a higher Nicotine content will work better for you at the outset of switching. Don’t be afraid to use the e-cigarette as often as you need to.

If you feel like snacking – drink a glass of water, get up from your desk and chair and if you still feel like snacking when you get back to where you were seated, choose a healthy snack.

Remember that any weight gain need only be temporary and once you’ve stopped smoking, you’ll have more energy and you’ll find it easier to be active.

Reference: NHS Smoke Free Service Guidelines

The minute you give up smoking tobacco your body will start to heal. It’s not unusual to experience Nicotine withdrawal.

One of the many advantages to switching to quit, as opposed to just going ‘cold turkey’, is that you can control your nicotine consumption. You may find that the switch is easier if you are using a higher strength of Nicotine e-liquid to begin with.

If you choose to go Nicotine free from the start, you may find that you experience some nicotine withdrawal and recovery symptoms, such as;

Feeling restless

Having a strong urge to smoke

You may be irritable and feel frustrated.

You may also feel tired, but have some difficulty sleeping.

You could also find it hard to concentrate.

You can relieve some of these symptoms by using an e-liquid that contains some Nicotine, but the urge to smoke is as much rooted in the ‘habit’ of smoking as it is in your addiction to Nicotine.

It’s important to note that Nicotine is not a harmful substance when inhaled. Many people relate the health issues of smoking to the Nicotine content, when in fact it is the burning of the tobacco that creates thousands of toxins – many of which are carcinogens – and not the Nicotine.²

These symptoms will pass and there are plenty of things you can do to manage them in the short term.

There are many excellent medicines available to help you make the journey less traumatic. Your local GP and NHS quitting service are there to support you. Even if you have decided to Switch to quit the NHS will support you.

Everyone has their own way of coping with cravings, which is why it’s important to plan ahead and be ready with solutions that work for you.

There are some simple things you can do to distract yourself with the cravings hit:

Talk to someone – maybe you could enlist the help of a friend to be your quitting buddy so you can call them when you feel the urge.

Get some fresh air – get up and get out!

Stay busy – play a game on your mobile phone, go tidy something, go speak to a colleague about an issue rather than just emailing them.

Drink a glass of water.

It happens. Don’t beat yourself up. You haven’t failed. Just stick with it and get yourself back on track.

Throw away the rest of the packet and go for a walk, drink some water and take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you really want to be a smoker again. You CAN do it!

The most important aspect of successfully quitting is getting support. Less than 3% of smokers succeed in quitting when they go it alone or go ‘cold turkey’.

The NHS has so many great services to help you succeed. Our Switch to Quit Private Group is also a great place to engage with other people making the same important journey you are making.

Switching to quit is a proven method of quitting smoking, but it works best if you have support.

The key to success is in the preparation.  Get ready to quit, don’t just do it and then try to get organised. You’ll be trying to figure it out, fight cravings and withdrawal all at the same time.  GET A PLAN!

Decide to quit – set a date (give yourself enough time to prepare everything).

If you aren’t sure how it will affect you, make an appointment with your doctor or local NHS quitting service.

Figure out your plan for switching – think about how much you smoke and whether you will find it easier with a stronger Nicotine content e-liquid to begin with.

Clear out your house and office of any junk food (you will feel hungrier) and get a bunch of healthy snacks in place so you have them where you need them.

Invest in a bottle to carry water with you – never leave home without access to water.

REMEMBER: Vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking and Nicotine is not a harmful substance when inhaled.^1,2

The stress relief most smokers feel is actually a response to a craving. As the craving takes hold, you feel stressed (cravings can be triggered by all sorts of situations) and the calming effect you feel is actually a response to answering the craving rather than relieving the actual stress. As you quit – particularly if you go ‘cold turkey’ – you may feel anxious, but this will pass.  Talk to your doctor or local NHS quitting service to get more guidance on how to manage stress during the initial phases of quitting.

We all get stressed from time to time, and you may feel that smoking helps you cope, but non-smokers usually have lower stress levels than smokers.

There are some simple things you can do to distract yourself when the cravings hit:

Talk to someone – maybe you could enlist the help of a friend to be your quitting buddy so you can call them when you feel the urge.

Get some fresh air – get up and get out!

Stay busy – play a game on your mobile phone, go tidy something, go speak to a colleague about an issue rather than just emailing them.

Drink a glass of water.

To date we have not found any medical studies relating bad breath to vaping, but anecdotally most vapers tell us their breath is massively improved since switching to vaping.

Some people are very sensitive to Nicotine, which is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it reduces the amount of blood that can flow through your blood vessels. Without enough blood flow, the gums might not get the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay healthy. Long story short, sufficient quantities of Nicotine could give you ‘dry mouth’ which in turn could lead to bad breath.  To be clear, this is pretty rare.

For the vast majority of people switching to vaping means that the foul toxins deposited while smoking tobacco are not present, and as such the negative impact on oral health is drastically reduced when vaping.

Nicotine is highly toxic when swallowed but is proven to have minimal impact on health when inhaled – other than it being highly addictive.¹⁰

To date we have not found any external studies relating to how vaping affects the smell of clothes, but anecdotally we believe that vaping does not make your clothes smell. This is because the vapour cloud quickly evaporates. Depending on what flavour, where, and how much, you’re vaping, you might notice a faint smell associated with the flavour of your e-liquid. Still, infinitely better for you (and everyone around you), that you smell fruity rather than smelling like an ash tray.

To date we have not found any external studies relating to how vaping affects the contents and interior of a building, but anecdotally we believe that vaping does not leave a residue in your home. This is because the vapour cloud quickly evaporates. But if you vape in a confined space for prolonged periods you may find it can leave a residue.  However, vaping does not deposit the same type or quantity of residue associated with traditional smoking – there really is no comparison.