Why quit vaping?

There are many benefits to giving up vaping. Your health will improve, and you will be free from nicotine dependence. It may also reduce your risk of smoking in the future. You’ll save money and reduce damage to the environment from the plastic, electronic waste and toxic chemicals in e-cigarettes.

What's your motivation

Choosing your why can help keep you going when things get tough. People have different reasons for quitting vaping – here are some common ones, but you may have others. Think about which ones work for you.

Improve your health

When you stop vaping, you give your body a chance to repair the damage done by regularly inhaling toxic chemicals. For young people, quitting will help protect your brain’s development from harm caused by nicotine. Nicotine can worsen anxiety and depression, but quitting can improve your mental health.

We are still learning about all the health risks related to vaping.

We do know that vaping is not safe, and short-term use has been associated with:

  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • mouth and airway irritation
  • coughing and shortness of breath
  • chest pain and heart palpitations.

Quitting vaping is one of the best things you can do to improve and protect your physical and mental health.

Have more money

You could use every dollar you spend on vaping for other things that are more important to you. If you spend $20 a week on vaping, you could save over $1,000 a year by quitting. Work out how much you could save by quitting vaping, and what you could do with this money instead.

Be free from addiction

When you quit vaping, you break your body’s dependence to nicotine and its control over you. This means you’ll have more freedom to make choices about your life that work for you, without being restricted by having to find time and places to vape.

Help your friends, family and the environment

When you vape it affects those around you, as well as the environment. Quitting improves the health of those around you by reducing passive vaping and protecting against the nicotine and toxic chemicals in vapour. This can make a big difference for children or young people in your family if you vape in your home.

E-cigarettes, also known as vapes, have a massive impact on the environment. Many e-cigarette pods are plastic (made from non-renewable fossil fuels) and can’t be recycled due to their nicotine content. When vapes are littered or go into landfill, they contaminate the environment with poisons including nicotine, heavy metals, and flammable lithium-ion batteries. This waste can take centuries to break down.

You're pregnant or trying to fall pregnant

Quitting vaping will protect you and your baby from harmful chemicals in e-cigarettes.

Vaping may make it harder to fall pregnant. If you're already pregnant, vaping may increase the risk of serious health issues for both you and your baby.

Find out more about vaping and pregnancy.

Write it down

When you have decided why you want to quit vaping, make a list of all your reasons. You'll need them later when you work out your quit plan.

Help and support to quit vaping

Your state or territory may have dedicated services or resources to help you quit vaping. Visit their website to see what support might be available to you.

Next step

Understand what quitting feels like.

Date last updated:

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