Natural alternatives to vaping focus on satisfying oral fixation, managing cravings with healthy habits, and reducing stress through lifestyle changes like exercise, mindfulness, and dietary adjustments, with options ranging from crunchy snacks and herbal teas to deep breathing and physical activity to distract from the urge. Key strategies involve keeping hands and mouth busy with gum, carrots, or nuts, using deep breathing or meditation for relaxation, and changing routines to break triggers, alongside seeking social support for quitting nicotine altogether.
The Real Healthy Alternative To Vaping: Quitting
While certainly easier said than done, quitting is the safest and healthiest alternative to vaping.
1) Chewing Gum and Mints: The Classic Oral Fixation Solution
Ex-vapers often find that nicotine withdrawal isn't their biggest challenge - they miss having something in their mouth. Chewing gum has become one of the most available and quickest ways to replace a vape.
Nicotine vapes
Vapes are not completely harmless, but they are safer than cigarettes and can help you slowly cut down on nicotine. We only recommend vaping for adult smokers, to support quitting smoking and staying quit.
Yes, lungs can begin to heal and show significant improvement after 7 years of vaping once you quit, with inflammation decreasing and lung function improving, but the extent of recovery depends on the damage; the sooner you stop, the better the chance for healing, though extensive, long-term damage might be permanent, emphasizing the need to quit for the best possible outcome and consulting a doctor for persistent issues.
How to Do a Lung Detox
We know that vaping can damage your lungs and harm the brain, which is still developing and maturing into your late 20s. The long-term effects of vaping aren't known yet, but what we know right now isn't great. There's no such thing as safe vaping, even occasional vaping can be harmful to your health.
Light smoking can shorten your life. Even people who averaged less than one cigarette per day over their entire lives were 64% more likely to die early than people who'd never smoked, a study found.
When you quit smoking, you may experience the “icky threes”: extra challenges on day 3, week 3, and month 3 of not smoking. In other words, you may experience additional side effects at the third day, third week, and third month after quitting smoking.
Evidence shows that vaping is less harmful than smoking. Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes. Switching to vaping reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke.
But nicotine vaping could still damage your health. “Your lungs aren't meant to deal with the constant challenge of non-air that people are putting into them—sometimes as many as 200 puffs a day—day after day, week after week, year after year,” Eissenberg says.
The safety of zero-nicotine vapes is a topic of ongoing debate and research within the scientific and medical communities. While they are generally considered to be safer than vaping products containing nicotine, it's essential to understand that they are not entirely risk-free.
Dry hits have previously been shown to result in e-liquid decomposition to aldehydes [22], and colloquially are known to deliver a pulse of unpleasant burnt gases.
They believe that even if vaping is not 100% safe for them, it is less harmful than traditional smoking.
Vape alternatives range from Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) like patches, gum, and lozenges, to nicotine-free flavored air inhalers (FÜM, Cigtrus) that satisfy oral fixation, to plant-based diffusers (ripple+), and prescription medications (Varenicline, Bupropion), offering ways to manage cravings and quit vaping with options focusing on flavor, habit replacement, or nicotine reduction. Other alternatives include heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches, or adopting lifestyle changes like exercise.
Research has shown that pneumonia, bronchitis, and other lung infections are more common in people who vape. Though these effects might not immediately be life-threatening, doctors worry about the long-term consequences. “A lot of acute bronchitis will at some point become chronic bronchitis and COPD,” he warns.
Understanding the vaping withdrawal timeline
Quitting smoking can lead to significant improvements over time. Lung function and health may partially recover, with reduced inflammation and improved cilia function, but some damage, especially from long-term smoking, can be permanent.
Try Nicotine Replacement Therapy
Think about trying a short-acting NRT, such as a lozenge or gum, plus long-acting NRT, such as the patch, to get past the craving.
Study finds some individuals have genetic variants that allow them to have long-term exposure to a carcinogen without developing lung cancer.
Smoking causes oxidative stress by producing free radicals, which reduce the body's antioxidant levels and contribute to health problems. Supplements such as vitamins C, E, D, B vitamins, and zinc can help repair lung damage and improve health in smokers.
What are your quick tips for those who continue to smoke but want to be as healthy as possible?
Heavy vaping can be harmful to health, so it's important to practice moderation. Vapers should aim to keep their puff count within a safe range. Studies suggest that approximately 140 puffs per day are safe for most vapers.
Yes, your lungs can begin to heal and improve significantly after quitting vaping, even after four years, with inflammation decreasing and lung function returning, but the extent of recovery depends on the damage; some severe damage, like scarring from conditions such as Popcorn Lung (Bronchiolitis Obliterans), might be permanent, emphasizing that quitting sooner offers the best chance for substantial healing, though some issues could linger or become chronic.
6 Ways To Vape As Safely As Possible