Finally ready to quit cigarettes? If so, that’s excellent news! With the many health risks that smoking poses, saying goodbye to the habit for good can only mean positive things for you and your health. Sadly, quitting something as addictive as cigarettes is never painless and it can be easy to get tempted during your first few weeks smoke-free. 

It’s a good thing that ex-smokers now have a nicotine-delivery alternative: vaping. Vaping is the healthier replacement you’ll love if you’re struggling with throwing away that pack for good. While this won’t completely erase the hardships that come with quitting smoking, it will certainly make your journey easier to cope with. 

Don’t Make These Vaping Mistakes

New to vaping? Don’t stress about it! All new things have a learning curve, and if this is something you believe can help you quit smoking, then it’s definitely worth giving a try. We understand that it can be pretty overwhelming at first, and we want to make your vaping journey as seamless as possible. So, we compiled a list of common mistakes that rookie vapers make so that you can avoid them: 

The key to starting vaping - or any new thing - is to make sure every choice you make is an informed decision. Knowing that vaping is becoming more and more prominent as a smoking alternative is not enough if you aren’t aware of the differences between the two or if you’ve never thought about the basics of vaping. 

This is an important decision to make as someone who is quitting cigarettes, and while we believe that this will help you in your journey, going in completely blind is not the way to start. 

Whether it’s about vaping in general or about a certain vaping product that you want to buy, research is always important. You need to inform yourself about the different aspects of the lifestyle so that you are more prepared when you start the transition from smoking to vaping. 

From guides on the internet to friends and family who are more knowledgeable on the subject, there are many ways to learn more about vaping so that you can make the most out of your experience.

On the other side of the spectrum are people who believe that they need to know every single thing about vaping before they can even start. This is counterproductive as well. While being informed and learning the basics is crucial, the world of vaping is too large and complex for you to completely understand before you even get to experience it. 

As long as you know the basics of vaping and what to expect, you don’t need to be an expert on all the various models, every single brand, or all the vaping lingo. This won’t just make vaping more overwhelming than necessary and possibly fatigue you with the information overload before you can even start. Trying to memorize information that isn’t urgent or necessary for rookies before you even try vaping will also delay the start of your vaping journey. 

The sooner you make the switch the better. Not just because quitting smoking is good for your health, but also because, once you start, that’s when you can truly experience and learn about the different facets of vaping culture without forcing it. Let the learning and exploration of vaping culture happen naturally!

All these complex devices that you see on the internet may be tempting to buy, but they aren’t always the best products to go for. Getting a system that’s too complicated can be intimidating, and it can even lead to mistakes that will make you frustrated enough to give up on vaping altogether.

Opt for simpler products instead. Pod vapes, which are closed-system devices, are not only easy to use, they’re also safer and neater. Because they are designed for pre-filled pods, there’s no need to fill or mix your e-liquids yourself. Mixing on your own can lead to messes and blunders that can have horrible consequences, so pod vapes are great for both first-time and experienced vapers.

A great bonus is the pod vapes’ style. Since they’re so sleek and compact, they allow for discreet vaping and are easy to carry around in your pocket. 

It’s easy to be tempted by a sale or something that’s way below your budget. It’s understandable. What you’re willing to spend is always a vital factor in making a purchase. This can cause trouble, though, if you’re going to the extreme and buying the cheapest device or e-liquid you can find without giving quality or safety a thought.

This doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune to ensure you’re getting legitimate products. Many reputable vaping brands offer great deals. The problem is that only thinking about price may lead to buying devices and e-liquids with prices that are literally too good to be true. 

More often than not, if the price seems low enough to seem sketchy, they are. There are many fake products and illegitimate sellers out there, so always do your research beforehand. Better yet, only buy from stores that are licensed sellers of brands that are well-known and loved by the vaping community.

Dual use, in the long run, is probably not a good idea. To experience the health benefits of switching from smoking to vaping, it’s important that you eventually swear off cigarettes completely. However, if you are new to vaping and are still experiencing withdrawal symptoms, dual use can actually help you make the switch. 

Quitting cigarettes cold turkey as soon as you start vaping is great if it works for you! However, if you are still feeling tempted to smoke all the time and the withdrawal symptoms are making it hard to not return to cigarettes, a gradual transition may be the best idea. Otherwise, vaping can become an entirely negative experience for you that you’ll want to give up rather than what it truly is: a journey toward quitting smoking that takes time. 

Setting your own pace is crucial. Start by reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke one by one each day and replace those with a vaping break. Keep doing this gradually until you’ve completely replaced smoking with vaping.

If you are good at forming new habits and making a commitment without the help of others, then you might not believe that this applies to you. You may be right; after all, everyone’s journeys are unique. However, whether or not you need it, having a person or a group of people who understand your struggle - especially when it’s related to quitting something you’re addicted to like cigarettes - will always make things a bit easier. 

From the physical symptoms of withdrawal to the emotional attachment you might have to smoking, there are a lot of things to overcome when you’re trying to give up smoking. This holds true even when you’re transitioning into a substitute for it like vaping. So, it’s important that you don’t do it alone. Feeling lonely and isolated during a period like this can make you more vulnerable to temptations to smoke again. 

There are many ways to go on this journey without feeling alone. You can do something formal like joining a support group for people quitting smoking. It can also be as simple as being active in the online vaping community or talking to a friend who has gone through this process before. Everyone’s vaping journeys are different, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from and support one another. 

One ingredient that you can find in e-liquids is propylene glycol. It is the substance that makes that satisfying throat hit you get when you vape. A side effect that comes with it, though, is that it can potentially make you feel dehydrated. While it’s nothing serious, it may be something that can make you feel uncomfortable throughout the day or make your vaping experience feel less than ideal. 

Drinking water is an effective and quick fix to this. Make sure that you’re drinking enough water throughout the day, especially after your vaping breaks.

Vaping is the smoking substitute many people are looking for, but that does not mean you should treat your device the way you would a cigarette. With smoking, when you take a drag, you do short and hard puffs. However, when you’re vaping, that isn’t going to cut it. 

When you vape, smooth and extended inhales are the way to go because vaping is meant to be savored. It will take time until you get the hang of it, but once you familiarize yourself with it and explore all e-liquid flavours you’ll want to relish and take your time with, it will become second nature to you. 

Not having your device fully charged before going out is a mistake that even experienced vapers commit. However, this can have more consequences if you’re a rookie that is still having a hard time staying away from cigarettes. Other than it being an annoyance, running out of battery while you’re out of the house can make you run to buy the first pack of cigarettes you see when you start craving nicotine. 

Always remember to fully charge your device to avoid temptations like this. It’s also a good idea to bring your charging cable around with you or to even invest in a portable charger. Running out of battery may not be anything more than a slight inconvenience once you’ve fully quit cigarettes and no longer feel tempted to smoke, but as someone just starting their journey, it’s definitely something you need to avoid. 

This is probably one of the easiest mistakes to make because it usually requires some trial and error. Of course, there are always guides that you can turn to if you want to see the nicotine strength equivalent of how much you smoked every day, but sometimes you just won’t know what works until you try it.

A good rule of thumb is to start with the nicotine strength that corresponds to how much you smoked. It may be tempting to immediately go for a lower one if you want to reduce your nicotine intake, but beginning with the strength you’re used to while you’re still figuring vaping out and getting used to vaping instead of smoking will make the transition easier for you. Once you get the hang of it and feel like you aren’t as tempted to go back to cigarettes when you don’t get as much nicotine, you can start to lower the nicotine strength gradually.

This mistake is not one about technique or strategy. It’s something much more difficult to overcome because it involves willpower and perseverance, which you can’t achieve just by following a list of steps. The biggest mistake you can make is giving up on vaping too early.

The turning point in vaping is when you’re able to not only feel satisfied with it without smoking on the side but also able to enjoy the experience. This milestone can happen at different moments for different people. Just because it isn’t happening quickly enough for you does not mean it isn’t working. Going back to cigarettes because of this will lead to you missing out on the reduced health risks and other advantages that come with vaping.

Being patient with your vaping journey doesn’t just mean pushing through when it’s hard to stay away from smoking. It also means that, if you do slip up and have a cigarette when you shouldn’t have, you don’t give up immediately after. While the goal is to not relapse, it’s extremely crucial that you trust yourself and put in the effort to get back on track if you do. 

Conclusion

Going from smoking to vaping comes with a lot of adjustments. You need to do all you can to avoid these mistakes, but it’s also important to know that this process isn’t linear. It’s possible that you can still make a blunder or encounter a hurdle you haven’t prepared enough for a few times along the way, but that’s alright. As long as you don’t give up, you’ll see that it’s something worth sticking to.