How to quit vaping: a practical guide

What the research does and doesn't tell us#

Advice on quitting vaping is newer and thinner than advice on quitting cigarettes. The Australian government says there is less research about quitting vaping, and that it can take some people multiple tries to quit successfully.¹ Where this guide borrows from cigarette studies, we say so.

The randomized trial we found that tested a vaping program enrolled 2,588 US residents aged 18 to 24 who used e-cigarettes. The program was a text message service. At seven months, 24.1% of the group that received it reported 30-day abstinence, against 18.6% of the group that only completed assessments.² That is a real gap, but it comes from one trial in young adults. It shows that structured support can help. It doesn't tell you which plan will work for you.

Stage 1: measure for one week#

Before you change anything, count for one week. Don't cut down yet and don't try to vape less. For each session or puff, note the time, where you were and what you were doing just before. Write down the nicotine strength of your e-liquid too, in mg/ml. The NHS suggests checking it, because it's the figure you'd reduce over time if you cut down gradually.³

The count isn't a verdict on you. It's a baseline, and you can't plan a change from a number you haven't looked at. Memory is a poor counter, especially for the puffs you take without noticing. A notes app or a tally on your phone is enough. At the end of the week you should have three numbers: sessions per day, the hour you vape most, and the place or activity that comes up most often. Those three numbers are your starting point, and the puff-tracking guide shows how to log without it becoming a chore. The triggers guide helps you turn the third number into a list.

Stage 2: pick a method and a quit date#

The NHS describes two routes. You can cut down gradually, which it says can make quitting easier.³ Or you can stop in one step, with help from a pharmacist or stop smoking adviser to get a suitable nicotine replacement product first.³

Gradual cutting works when the steps are written down and you check the tally against them each week. A single stop works when the first few days are covered: support in place, the vapes out of reach, and a plan for the first cravings. Either route fails if the steps stay in your head. The guides on cold turkey and tapering and tapering off vaping go through each one, and the nicotine strength guide covers the step-down itself.

Then set a date. Pick one close enough to feel real and far enough away to prepare, and avoid a day with a known spike, such as a night out or a trip. If you're cutting down, the date is when step one starts. Put it in your calendar with a reminder the day before.

Stage 3: get support before the date#

Line up three kinds of help before the date, not on it.

• Medicine, from a professional. Ask a doctor or pharmacist. Smokefree.gov notes that the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved medications to help people quit vaping, and advises talking with a doctor about whether medication might be right for you.⁴ If you live in Australia, the Australia guide covers pharmacies and the Quitline.
• A trained quitline. In Australia, call Quitline on 13 7848. Quit describes it as a way to "speak directly with a trained quit counsellor."⁵ In the United States, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. The CDC says trained quit coaches are available there to provide confidential help at no cost to callers.⁶ In England, the National Smokefree Helpline is 0300 123 1044, England only, to talk to a trained adviser. Its lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm.⁷
• A local service. England also has free local Stop Smoking Services. The NHS says their advisers can support you if you're using your own e-cigarette (vape) to quit.⁸
• People. Tell at least one person what you're doing, and be specific about what you want from them: a text at your usual trigger time, or a walk instead of the usual break. A friend who knows the plan helps more than one who only knows you're trying. The guide to quitting with friends covers how to set that up.

Stage 4: plan for cravings and withdrawal#

Withdrawal is what your body does when it adjusts to going without nicotine. The NHS lists strong cravings to vape, feeling irritable or low in mood, trouble concentrating, feeling hungrier than usual and difficulty sleeping as symptoms people can get.³ Smokefree.gov adds headaches, restlessness and feeling jittery.⁴

Smokefree.gov says the worst withdrawal symptoms last only a few days to a couple of weeks.⁴ The Australian government says symptoms can last from a few days to a few weeks, and that this is different for every person.¹

Knowing that doesn't stop a craving on its own. What helps is a plan made before it arrives. For each trigger on your list, write one thing you'll do instead: move, drink water, text someone from your list, or do a breathing exercise. Decide it now, when you're calm, and keep it where you can see it. The craving guide has a longer list, and the withdrawal timeline covers what to expect over the coming weeks. If sleep is the hardest part, the sleep guide covers what to try, and the nicotine replacement guide is worth reading with your doctor or pharmacist before you decide on any product.

Stage 5: decide what a slip looks like#

Slips happen during quits, so the plan should say what you'll do when one does. The NHS puts it plainly: "It's okay if it takes a few tries to quit for good." It adds that if you're struggling, using a vape for a short time is fine, and you can always try quitting again.³

Write two lines now, while you're not in one. The first is what you'll do in the next hour: put the vape down, use the step you wrote for that trigger, and message the person you told. The second is what you'll do the next day: log the slip, note what set it off, and restart from the step you were on, not from zero. The lapse and relapse guide explains how to tell a single slip from going back to vaping as usual.

Here is what two written lines can look like: "Next hour: put the vape in my bag, drink water, text Sam." "Next day: log the puff, note it came after the afternoon meeting, restart from the desk step." The names and places are yours to change. What matters is that the lines exist before the slip, so you aren't deciding under pressure.

Your one-page quit plan#

Copy this table onto one page, or print it. Fill in each row before your quit date, not on the day. Leave the answer column blank if you don't know yet, and come back to it before the date.

A filled-in row might read: trigger 1 is the first coffee at my desk, and what I'll do instead is fill my water bottle, walk to the kitchen and drink half of it before I sit down. The plan works best when the alternative is specific enough to do without thinking. "Try to resist" isn't a plan.

Keep the page where you'll see it during a bad moment, such as on the lock screen of the phone you log cravings on, or on the fridge. For the day-by-day actions in the first week, the first-week guide lists what to do on each day.

Run this plan in ExHale#

We built ExHale to run exactly this five-stage plan for you. A short quiz builds your step-down plan: a calibration week to measure what you use, then weekly step-downs that adapt to what you actually log with one-tap puff and craving logging. When a craving hits, the craving SOS has box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing and quick minigames ready, and the quit crew lets you ask up to three friends before a puff. If you slip, ExHale treats it as something you log, not a reason to start over, and bounce-back quests give you a road back.

Questions about quitting vaping#

References#

1. Australian Government, health.gov.au. What quitting feels like. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.health.gov.au/topics/smoking-vaping-and-tobacco/how-to-quit/what-it-feels-like
2. Graham AL, et al. Effectiveness of a Vaping Cessation Text Message Program Among Young Adult e-Cigarette Users: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2021;181(7):923-930. jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2779740
3. NHS. How to quit vaping (Better Health). Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/how-to-quit-vaping/
4. National Cancer Institute, smokefree.gov. Nicotine withdrawal and vaping. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. smokefree.gov/quit-vaping-resources/nicotine-withdrawal-vaping
5. Quit (Australia). Quitline 13 7848. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.quit.org.au/en
6. CDC. Vaping and quitting. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.cdc.gov/tobacco/e-cigarettes/quitting.html
7. NHS. Explore your support options (Better Health), including the National Smokefree Helpline. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/explore-your-support-options/
8. NHS. Find your local Stop Smoking Service (Better Health). Accessed 5 Nov 2026. www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/find-your-local-stop-smoking-service/