What Happens When You Quit Smoking And Start Vaping?

Making the decision to quit smoking is a great choice for your health, but for most people, it can be tough to do. As a result, many people seek solutions that will make the journey simpler and easier. Switching to vaping is one of the most popular and successful techniques to stop smoking. 

When you start vaping, your body will undergo various beneficial changes that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. We will go through these differences in more detail and propose some tips to make your transition much smoother.

How Can Vaping Help You Stop Smoking?

About 70% of all adult smokers want to break away from this habit, and vaping has helped many people stop smoking. Using methods such as, going to nicotine replacement therapy and using nicotine patches, gums and lozenges to provide you with nicotine instead of cigarettes are not always effective. This is because most of the time, smokers miss the social habits they had with smoking. 

That is why vaping is an excellent way to help you quit smoking and completely remove yourself from inhaling the toxic chemicals contained in cigarettes. Here are some reasons why vaping can help you stop smoking:

• You can choose the amount of nicotine within your e-liquid and gradually reduce it from little to none
• You will receive the same throat hit with vaping as you do with smoking cigarettes, but you will have much more control over it
• The same hand-to-mouth action is done with vaping, so you will receive the same sensation as with cigarettes, but you will just be using a healthier alternative

How Will Your Body Change After You Stop Smoking?

When you stop smoking and switch to vaping, your body will go through different stages. We have created a timeline to help you understand the changes you’ll be going through:

Note: These effects will be most noticeable when you consume very little, if any, nicotine while vaping.

After 20 minutes

In this short amount of time, your body will already start to function differently. Your blood pressure and pulse rate will begin to normalise. Your feet and hands will also begin to recover to normal temperature.

After 2 Hours

Your circulation will improve, and if you vape without nicotine, you will begin to feel slight nicotine withdrawal symptoms. To avoid this, you can use a nicotine-containing e-liquid, although it is not recommended.

After 8 hours

Because your body will begin to detoxify the carbon monoxide to less than 50% within your bloodstream, the quantity of oxygen in your blood will begin to restore to healthier levels. This is possible even when vaping, since the vapour produced by vaping devices contains no carbon monoxide.

After 24 Hours

Carbon monoxide levels in your body should have returned to normal by now. Now that the harmful gas that was preventing oxygen from reaching your heart has been eliminated, oxygen levels will return to normal. 

Your lungs will begin to cleanse and eliminate mucus and debris that accumulated when you were smoking cigarettes. Because you are no longer breathing toxic chemicals from cigarettes, your body will begin to recover properly. This process will not be delayed by vaping.

After 48 Hours

Taste and smell will return, and you will begin to enjoy meals and beverages more. However, the disadvantage of going so long without a cigarette or nicotine-containing e-liquid is that nicotine withdrawal symptoms will begin to intensify.

After 3 Days

Breathing should be a lot easier now. Unless you are using a nicotine-based e-liquid, the nicotine will have been entirely eliminated from your body by this point. If you are not using a nicotine-based e-liquid, you will have reached the pinnacle of nicotine withdrawal by now. This will include negative effects such as irritability and severe headaches.

After 2 Weeks

By now, you should have entirely recovered your sense of taste and smell, as well as greater amounts of protective antioxidants such as vitamin C in your blood. If you were smoking nicotine-free e-liquids, your circulation will improve even more, you will have more energy for physical activities, and indicators of nicotine withdrawal will have completely vanished.

After 1 Month

The microscopic hair-like structures within your lungs known as cilia will begin to clean dirt from your airways, allowing them to become unclogged. After a month, they will be able to resume functions properly and prepare to begin cleansing your lungs of tar, mucus, and dust, as well as becoming more efficient in battling lung infections.

After 3 – 9 Months

As coughing occurs, the increased likelihood of coughing up phlegm will decrease. Shallow breathing will be greatly improved or be totally eliminated. You will be less stressed, your immune system will be more successful in fighting illnesses, and your lungs will be able to clear toxic substances such as tar, dust, and mucus more efficiently.

Your blood will become less “sticky” and thick. The temperature in your hands and feet will rise to normal levels. If you had lung infections while smoking, you will notice a significant decrease in infections now.

After 1 Year

Your lungs are considerably healthier now, and you can breathe much easier than someone who still smokes cigarettes. Even if you continue to use a vaping device, your chance of getting heart disease will continue to decrease.

After 5 Years

The occurrence of strokes and heart attacks is significantly lower and will continue to decrease as time goes on. Your arteries will begin to enlarge, reducing the likelihood of blood clots that can lead to strokes.

After 10 Years

You are less likely to die from lung cancer, and your risk of developing lung and pancreatic cancer are reduced. Your chances of developing bladder, oesophageal, throat, or oral cancer are also significantly decreased.

After 15 Years

You will have half the chance of acquiring lung cancer or coronary heart disease as someone who has never smoked a cigarette before.

After 20 Years

Even if you continue vaping, your risks of having a stroke, pancreatic cancer, or heart attack are the same as someone who has never smoked a cigarette.

Tips To Ease The Transition From Smoking To Vaping

It is important to make the transition from smoking cigarettes to vaping as smooth and comfortable as possible. This will be a new and exciting experience that will leave you with no desire to continue your smoking habits. It will take some time to become used to vaping, but with the following tips, you will adapt much more easily and have the best experience possible:

• Buy from a reputable brand
• Try a starter vape kit
• Use the right nicotine strength
• Take your time to identify your personal preference

Buy From A Reputable Brand

A mistake many people make, when they want to stop smoking, is buying a low-quality product. Buying a device or e-liquid from a store which sells unbranded products is not something we advise. New vapers may not know how to recognize these products, causing more harm to their health rather than improving it. Buying your first vape from a quality store and brand will help avoid any unpleasantries and help make your transition from smoking to vaping easier.

Try A Starter Vape Kit

Many vape stores have vape starter kits for people who have never vaped before. These kits will include everything you will need to start vaping, and be tailored for new vapers. They will not be complicated to use, and require no special instructions to maintain. 

The most common vape to start with is a disposable vape, because they have everything preinstalled, and can be used right out of the package. Starting with a simple and easy device that looks and feels like a typical cigarette will make the transition from smoking to vaping much easier.

Use The Right Nicotine Strength

When you switch from smoking to vaping, you need to be able to determine how much nicotine your body is used to. E-liquids do not have a preset nicotine level like cigarettes, and not all people have the same nicotine tolerance. Here are some guidelines which will help you determine the nicotine strength you should use:

Take Your Time To Identify Your Personal Preference

Doing something you have never done before can be overwhelming. Do not rush into anything without doing your research first. Try different types of nicotine strengths and e-liquid flavours to decide which type will suit you the best. Experiment with different inhaling techniques and devices, and begin with a minimal number of puffs per day and gradually increase them.

You can even experiment with dual use, which is swapping between cigarettes and vaping devices to get used to the idea of vaping before completely making the switch.

Is Vaping Good For Quitting Smoking?

Yes, vaping has helped countless people stop smoking, and it is 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes. There is a wide variety of devices and e-liquid flavours you can experiment with to find out which ones you prefer. 

As you continue on your vaping journey, the goal is to reduce your nicotine intake to 0 mg, but reaching this point does not mean you need to stop vaping. You can still vape for the enjoyment of the different flavours of vape juices and spend time socialising with fellow vape enthusiasts.