Smokefree City & Hackney 

Smokefree City & Hackney is the local stop smoking service.

Sorry, but we are not commissioned to support people who want help to quit vaping/quit using NRT. Below is some guidance on how to quit vaping / using NRT:

I Want To Stop Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

 The manufacturers recommend using NRT products for 12 weeks. However, whether it be mouth spray, inhalator, lozenges or gum, some people find that they are still using an NRT product or products many months or even years after they quit smoking and they want to stop.

The first thing to bear in mind is that compared to smoking, there are no serious health risks associated with nicotine.

However, if you remain nicotine-dependent, you are at increased risk of starting smoking again. Furthermore, as with any habit- forming drug, your tolerance for nicotine will increase over time and you will find you need to use more NRT to get the same effect.

Here’s some guidance to help you quit NRT

Stopping suddenly is likely to result in withdrawal symptoms such as tobacco cravings, nervousness, irritability, difficulty concentrating and headaches.

Withdrawal symptoms could be more severe if you have used NRT for a long time or you are using a lot of it. We recommend cutting down gradually.

Do some preparation

1. Write down the reason why you want to quit. Is it for your health? Are you pregnant and worried about the NRT affecting the developing foetus? Is it costing you too much money? Write down your goal and what you want to achieve by quitting.
2. Work out how much NRT you are using each day i.e. how many lozenges, how many pieces of gum, how many inhalator cartridges you use or how many sprays of the mouth spray. Note down the times of the day when you use your NRT and how much eg two lozenges first thing in the morning, a gum after meals, etc. Now think about the different times of the day when you use NRT and rank them in terms of how difficult it will be to stop using NRT at that time.
3. Stop or reduce the NRT you are using at the easiest time of the day. If you are trying to quit using NRT lozenges or gum, try substituting the NRT product for a piece of sugar-free gum or a sugar-free sweet to give yourself the feeling of having the gum/lozenge in your mouth.
4. Once you are comfortable with this small reduction, choose another time of the day and reduce/stop your NRT use at that time. Repeat these steps until you are no longer using NRT. It doesn't matter how much time (within reason) that you take between each step. Step down when you feel comfortable, always keeping your goal in mind.

It might be helpful to use the same techniques you learned to help you quit smoking. For example, have your preferred methods of distraction ready to tide you over a craving e.g. text a friend, play a game on your phone, take a walk. Remember each craving might feel like it lasts a long time but generally they pass in less than 5 minutes, so you need a distraction to see you through the 5 minutes.

IMPORTANT: If at any point you think you are at risk of returning to smoking, please resume your normal NRT use. You might like to keep an ‘emergency’ pack of NRT available for those situations when a sudden trigger causes an urge to smoke.

I Want To Be Vape-Free

Some people are happy to vape long-term, but some want to stop and some may want to stop as soon as possible.

Some points to consider before you start quitting vaping

• If you used a vape to help yourself quit smoking, then you should only consider quitting vaping once you are completely certain that you will not restart smoking. For this reason, we recommend that you only consider quitting vaping once you are 12 weeks or more past the date of your last cigarette.
• If you want to quit because you feel you are vaping more than you ever used to used to smoke, bear in mind that vaping is not like smoking and to obtain the same amount of nicotine, you will need to use your vape more frequently relative to smoking (‘grazing’ rather than ‘bingeing’).
• Remember that vaping is far less harmful than smoking and that nicotine is a fairly harmless component of both vapes and cigarettes. There is no need for you to feel pressured or put pressure on yourself to quit vaping in a rush. Slow but sure is fine (but for those who wish to stop in one step please see the advice towards the end of this leaflet).

Tips & tricks to quit vaping gradually

• Write down the reason/s why you want to quit. Whether it’s for your health, your family or any other reason, keep going back to your list to keep yourself focused and your motivation high.
• Slowly reduce the nicotine strength of your eLiquid – this option is only available if you are using a vape with a refillable tank or a vape that takes prefilled pods. eLiquid comes in a variety of strengths: 20mg, 18mg, 12mg, 6mg, 3mg, 0mg. How quickly and by how much you reduce the nicotine strength of your eLiquid is your choice, but we recommend if you are newly smokefree that you reduce more slowly. You could for example, choose to reduce to the next strength down every four weeks.
• Set rules for yourself about where and when you vape and where and when you don’t vape – eg only vape when you are outside your home or car, or only vape on your breaks at work. Setting rules like this will help you to weaken the link between vaping and specific situations and times.
• Extend the time between vaping – if you vape every 20 minutes, move to vaping every 40 minutes.
• Take shorter puffs – you will know how deeply you inhale the vape; aim gradually to shorten the intake just a little at a time.
• Leave your vape somewhere out of sight and out of reach – this will help you break the habit of picking up the vape because ‘it’s there’.

What if I want to quit in one step?

• If you don’t want to cut down gradually, we recommend that you use the same techniques for quitting vaping as you used when you quit smoking. Write down the reason/s why you want to quit. Whether it’s for your health, your family or any other reason, keep going back to your list to keep yourself focused and your motivation high.
• Tell your friends and family that you are quitting, so they know in advance and can support you.
• Set your vape quit date and commit to the ‘not a puff’ rule. When the date arrives watch how you feel as you go through the day without vaping.
• Identify the more difficult times, be prepared to change your routine, be ready with your preferred method of distraction (eg text a friend, play a game on your phone, take a walk). Remember, each craving might feel like it lasts a long time, but they tend to pass in less than 5 minutes, so you need a distraction to see you through the 5 minutes.

Can I use nicotine patches or gum to wean myself off vapes?

Yes, it is perfectly possible to use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to support your vape quit.You will need to use the appropriate NRT product/s for your level of nicotine dependency. Your local pharmacy will be able to guide you on which NRT product/s to buy.

As a very rough guide, if you are using up to 12mg of nicotine a day, then you need to buy Step 3 patches; if you use 12-40mg of nicotine a day, you need to buy Step 2 patches and a fast-acting NRT product such as lozenges or gum; if you are using over 40mg of nicotine a day, you need to buy Step 1 patches and a fast-acting NRT product.

If at any point you think you are at risk of returning to smoking, please resume your normal vape use. It makes sense to keep an ‘emergency’ vape available for those situations when a sudden trigger causes an urge to smoke.

Published: Mar 14, 2023