Encourage them to have a plan Talk to your teen about how they will manage cravings and temptation if they are around peers who vape. Help them build a list of actions and activities they can use to distract themselves when cravings strike. The quitSTART app has games and challenges to help people quit.
Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Each time a new memory is created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built between brain cells. Young people's brains build synapses faster than adult brains.
Also, it may help to know that nicotine withdrawal symptoms do subside over time. They are usually worst during the first week after quitting, peaking during the first 3 days. From that point on, the intensity of symptoms usually drops over the first month.
For some people, quitting cold turkey is the most effective option. But for many others, the best way to stop vaping is by weaning off of nicotine first. Vaping is partly habitual – the act of holding something in the hand and putting it in the mouth.
Breathing in the harmful chemicals from vaping products can cause irreversible (cannot be cured) lung damage, lung disease and, in some cases, death. Some chemicals in vaping products can also cause cardiovascular disease and biological changes that are associated with cancer development.
After just 72 hours, nicotine is completely out of your system. During that time, you may experience headaches, chills and feel irritable as a result of nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine is shown to decrease blood flow around the heart, and some physicians believe vapes can have similar effects.
The most commonly-reported adverse effects were throat/mouth irritation, headache, cough, and nausea, which tended to dissipate with continued use.
Nicotine Addiction
The more you vape, the more your brain and body get used to having nicotine, and the harder it is to go without it. When you go without vaping, the nicotine level in your bloodstream drops, which may cause unpleasant feelings, physical symptoms, and strong urges to vape. This is nicotine addiction.
Physical symptoms include “headaches, sweating, tremors, insomnia, increased appetite, abdominal cramps, and constipation,” Dr. Djordjevic says. These are the first effects you're likely to feel, often within four to 24 hours after quitting.
Talk to your doctor or another health care professional about how to quit vaping. Ask how they might be able to help you. They can offer support and resources. Talk to a tobacco cessation counselor.
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
If your teen has developed a nicotine addiction, there are several treatment options available. Why do teens vape? Teens often vape because vapes come in fun flavors, have sleek enticing packaging, and can be charged in a USB port. Teens have been led to believe that vapes are much less harmful than cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are closely associated with tobacco cigarettes and for obvious reasons: Both are popular among teens, both contain highly addictive nicotine, and both can ruin health and potentially the brain development of adolescents. One big difference: It's harder to quit vaping than traditional cigarettes. Why?
If You've Vaped Too Much...
The most common and least serious situation is being nauseous or having a headache after vaping too much. Usually, if you stop vaping you'll feel better soon. It is key, though, to stop as soon as you feel any symptoms - if you try and power through it you'll only feel worse.
“We also observed that when patients ceased vaping, they had a partial reversal of the condition over one to four years, though not complete due to residual scarring in the lung tissue.”
The lung damage he has seen in patients is the equivalent to someone smoking cigarettes for decades. "It literally can kill you the first time you try it," he says.
The good news, however, is that disposable vapes that are made by reputable vape brands and comply with safety laws and regulations are just as safe as traditional e-cigarettes. When used by adult smokers, disposable e-cigarettes are considered 95% less harmful than smoking.
Vaping and Popcorn Lung
Diacetyl is frequently added to flavored e-liquid to enhance the taste. Inhaling diacetyl causes inflammation and may lead to permanent scarring in the smallest branches of the airways — popcorn lung — which makes breathing difficult. Popcorn lung has no lasting treatment.
The truth about nicotine withdrawal
The withdrawal timeline is also different for everyone, but according to a 2015 study, symptoms like these set in between 4 and 24 hours after the last use, peak on day 3, and typically subside during the following 3-4 weeks.
Even though the packs don't say it, most vapes contain high levels of nicotine, like cigarettes. You can become addicted to nicotine very quickly and find it difficult to stop vaping. The nicotine in 1 vape can equal 50 cigarettes.
Based on the weaning instructions above, if you were to vape your normal 'full strength' e-liquid for a month, then drop down to 'two-thirds strength' the next month, then 'one-third strength' the month after that, you could be completely free of your nicotine addiction by the start of month four.