So, a lot of the time I was vaping because I was stressed.
Did you get any like, headaches, jitters, shakes or anything like that when you tried to stop?
I felt like I got a lot of headaches. Like that was really tough.
My name's Tom. I'm 26 and I have never vaped.
Kye, I'm also 26. I'm a full-time vaper.
Oh, Alyssa, I'm 23 and I don't vape anymore.
When did you start vaping and why?
Probably at least like four years ago I reckon now.
Started just because, like, it was there.
Every pub you went to, every place you went one of the boys whipped it out. You’re like “Yeah I’ll try that”.
And then all of a sudden, it wasn't just on the weekends. There'd be one of my pocket, on the way to work, next to my bed, before I went to sleep, when I woke up. It was just there.
So, I went to film school, and I feel like everyone smokes at film school. Vaping became really big around that time as well, when I was going to uni.
I used to, smoke cigarettes all the time, and then I moved on to vaping. Being like “yeah, I'm quitting”. But it wasn't. It was not quitting.
So, when did you stop then?
Probably about a year ago, or two maybe. I start to notice I was getting really sick all the time. I had like a cough for like a solid, like a year. And then I was like, “nah, this is getting a problem”. Like, “I literally can't breathe” before the call for the way I quit.
Did you find the cough went away pretty quick?
Yeah, it did! It left!
Did you find it hard to stop?
It was hard to stop when you'd go out to parties and whatnot. And everyone has a vape. There would always be someone with nicotine on them.
And I also started to notice, when and why I was vaping as well. So, a lot of the time I was vaping because I was stressed. Having this device, trying to be like, “this is a physical thing”
“This is what's going to calm you down”. You know what I mean?
Yeah.
After I quit, I was like, every time I was stressed, I was like, I was like, looking for something to suck on.
I started on nicotine gum. That's kind of what I was using. But obviously take that in small dosages, or like, as you should, because it is still nicotine.
Did you get any like headaches, jitters, shakes or anything like that when you tried to stop?
I felt like I got a lot of headaches. Like that was really tough.
One of my main concerns is in 40 years, what kind of the long-term outcomes will be?
I play a lot of sport. And then even, like walking on the golf course, I sit there and, have a puff and I notice I’m blowing out a bit more. And you see kids in school uniforms, waiting for the bus, puffing on vapes. It's pretty bad.
My friends who don't smoke, who have then taken up vaping. Instead of side stepping from smoking to vaping, they have just taken it up, when they didn't smoke in the first place.
It's gets too accessible.
Jumping from a cigarette to like, a vape is one thing, but just go straight to vaping. It's just like a bit hardcore.
Yeah.
So Kye you mentioned that you've attempted to quit a few times. Anything that you found was helpful in that time?
Yeah. That my quit buddy app, that was pretty good. I’d go through put in things and that. It sends me a couple little reminders. Makes me feel good. And then when you sit there and go “Oh shit I actually did have a vape”. The you’ve got to re-set and it’s like, disappointed in you.
Where I see vaping in the future, and I think it is slowly dying down. Hopefully it does kind of nosedive in the next few years or so.
For more tips on how to quit, head to health.gov.au/vaping.