7 Reasons why it can be so hard to quit vaping

Quitting vaping is easy if you know how – and the bestselling book, ‘Allen Carr’s Easyway to Quit Vaping’, the online video programme of the same name, and the live seminars (which come with a money back guarantee) explain exactly how. But why do so many people who don’t get support find it so challenging to quit vaping?

1. Marketing

Vaping has been mercilessly promoted and marketed toward adults and kids for the last 10 years. Initially it was via traditional media – more recently via social media.

Vapes have been everywhere – sucking in non-smokers as well as smokers who wish to “switch to quit”. .

2. Perceived as stylish and cool

It’s become ingrained in vaper’s psyche that it’s not only an “OK” thing to do but a stylish, cool, sophisticated, and relatively harmless “habit”.

There are many mixed messages about the harms caused by vaping that adds to the confusion – but before too long whether someone is a happy vaper or a worried vaper – it begins to dawn on them that they’ve become seriously addicted and that they might struggle to get free from it.

It’s a scary feeling that puts them off the idea of even trying to quit, and if they summon up the courage to make a quit attempt they do so with a sense of impending doom and doom.

They’re almost beaten before they try.

3. Qutting using willpower

Vapers attempt to quit by using willpower – pitting their fear of being an addict and what vaping might be doing to their health and finances against their desire to vape.

But willpower only lasts so long and because they feel they’ve sacrificed something they used to enjoy – they easily slip back into doing it and can’t seem to get free.

Each failed attempt to quit makes them feel more helpless and more trapped.

4. No “beginning, middle, or end” of a vape

There is no “beginning, middle, or end” of a vape. Someone recently described it as being akin to carrying a lit cigarette around in your pocket all day and night – you can puff on it anytime you want.

It becomes an almost constant thing – rather than taking smoking breaks – vapers tend to puff away endlessly. Whereas previously they might have popped outside for a quick smoke they now remain glued to their device – puffing away “on autopilot”.

The habitual elements of vaping quickly become “locked in” as it becomes an almost constant action.

5. High levels of nicotine in vape juice

These are unprecedented levels of nicotine that vapers are taking in – higher doses, more frequently – leaving the addict with an ever-growing sense of dependence.

Vapes have been found to contain illegally high levels of nicotine and with very little control over manufacturing and retailing (the black market is huge) the situation is getting worse and worse.

As an aside, no-one knows the health impact that near constant vaping might have on vapers but given how many report feeling constantly ill – the long-term future is not bright.

6. Eye-catching packaging

Counters in shops have displays of brightly coloured, alluring, eye-catching vapes located beside and behind the cash register.

These brightly coloured. candy flavoured, bewitching devices have quickly replaced the golds and purples of the old tobacco displays.

Displaying cigarettes was banned because it was proven to encourage smoking and to make it harder for smokers to quit – it’s no surprise that the same applies to vape displays.

7. Easily available

As well as being available in gas stations, off-licences, and corner shops vaping is ubiquitous wherever you find young people socialising.

Vapes are passed around amongst friends whether they’re dancing the night away in a club or drinking outside a bar or pub – they’re everywhere.

Easy access to vapes makes it so much harder to quit when someone is using sheer willpower to do so.

It only takes one moment of weakness to pull them back into the trap.