What happens when you quit vaping?

Key takeaways

• Withdrawal comes first: Smokefree.gov says the worst symptoms last a few days to a couple of weeks.
• Quitting ends exposure to vape aerosol, which CDC says can contain cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals and tiny particles.
• Health Canada lists freedom from nicotine dependence, breathing better, more energy and saving money among reasons to quit vaping.
• CDC says nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25.
• Smoking milestones such as carbon monoxide levels don't apply to vapes, and long-term vaping research is still developing.

What happens in the first days and weeks after you quit vaping?

Early on, you may go through nicotine withdrawal. CDC says quitting vaping may lead to withdrawal symptoms, and Smokefree.gov lists irritability, headaches, low mood, anxiety, tiredness, trouble sleeping or concentrating, extra hunger and intense cravings to vape. It says the worst symptoms only last a few days to a couple of weeks.

Cravings follow a similar arc. Health Canada says a craving will only last a few minutes if you resist and delay, and that over time cravings become fewer, shorter and weaker. In one clinical trial of former smokers who vaped daily, weight increased and heart rate decreased when participants stopped vaping (Hughes and colleagues, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2020); that study measured only the short term.

What health changes come from quitting vaping?

When you stop vaping, you stop inhaling vape aerosol. CDC says that aerosol can contain cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead, and tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs.

Health Canada's reasons for quitting vaping include reducing your risk of disease, freedom from nicotine dependence, breathing better, having more energy and saving money. Smokefree.gov adds that quitting can help you feel more in control of your life. These are presented as benefits of quitting, not as a schedule with dates attached.

Why isn't there a recovery timeline for vaping like there is for smoking?

Vaping hasn't been studied for as long as smoking. CDC says scientists still have a lot to learn about the short- and long-term health effects of e-cigarettes, and the NHS says vaping has not been around long enough to know the risks of long-term use. It follows that the long-term benefits of quitting vaping can't yet be mapped out in the same detail as quitting cigarettes.

Smoking recovery timelines also track things that don't apply to vapes. The NHS notes that most of the harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, including tar and carbon monoxide, are not in vape aerosol, so milestones like carbon monoxide levels returning to normal describe recovery from smoking. If you smoke as well as vape, those milestones still apply to the cigarettes you give up.

What changes for teens and young adults who quit vaping?

CDC says nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25, and that using nicotine during adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control. Quitting ends that ongoing nicotine exposure. The official sources reviewed here don't describe a timeline for how the brain recovers after a young person stops.

What if you switched to vaping to quit smoking?

The NHS says vaping is less harmful than smoking but not risk-free, and that the healthiest option is not to smoke or vape. It advises quitting vaping only when you are confident you can do it without smoking, and says going back to vaping is much better than starting to smoke again.