I Want to Quit Vaping – What Now?

Congratulations! Having the motivation to quit using illegal vapes is absolutely essential to give you the best chance of succeeding.

If you are using illegal vapes (any vape bought outside a pharmacy, including online), we highly recommend stopping immediately for your health.

Illegal vapes have been found to contain up to 357mg of nicotine in a single vape¹https://www.vice.com/en/article/we-got-your-vapes-tested-in-a-lab-heres-what-we-found/, high levels of nickel and lead²https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65614078, and even traces of human saliva³https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350476385/paddy-gower-on-vaping-shocking-facts-uncovered-about-the-known-and-unknown-health-risks-of-e-liquids.

Read more about the real dangers of illegal vapes here.

Where do I start?

The best place to start is a conversation with your local community pharmacist. There are a few reasons for this, for example, your pharmacist can:

1. Assess your current level of nicotine addiction, and even supply an over-the-counter therapeutic vape without a prescription (ex. WA and TAS) if suitable
2. Recommend a local GP clinic or telehealth service to ensure you get the help you need
3. Provide ongoing support and advice, and also recommend a counselling service
4. Ensure that, where it is appropriate to supply or dispense a vape, the product meets the stringent quality and safety requirements set by the TGA

Once you have made the decision to quit vaping, many of the steps involved in successfully quitting smoking will also help you in quitting vaping:

1. Preparing to quit
2. Understanding nicotine withdrawal
3. Managing triggers and cravings
4. Building a support network

Remember: The best starting point is speaking to your local community pharmacist to understand your options for quitting vaping, so find your nearest pharmacy today.

Quitting vaping vs. quitting smoking

If you are currently about to quit using illegal vapes, it’s likely that you were once a smoker, i.e., an ex-smoker who has used vaping to support your quitting attempt.

Of course, that’s not always the case – in recent years a number of people who had never smoked have taken up vaping and become addicted, in some cases unknowingly, to nicotine.

These people are known as ‘never-smokers’, meaning you had no (or little) experience with nicotine via smoking prior to vaping.

The main difference between an ex-smoker and a never-smoker quitting vaping is that an ex-smoker has (statistically speaking) probably attempted to quit smoking a number of times and has more experience with recognising and dealing with cravings.

In both cases, speaking with your local community pharmacist will help you get the support you need to make your quit attempt successful.