What to know
There are proven strategies to help people quit smoking. Scientists are studying the best ways to help people quit vaping. Quitting vaping is likely similar to quitting smoking because both involve nicotine addiction and quitting may lead to withdrawal symptoms.
Quitting vaping
People who vape can become addicted to nicotine. This can make it hard to quit, but you don't have to do it alone. For example, trained quit coaches are available via 1-800-QUIT-NOW to provide confidential help at no cost to callers. There are several free and low-cost resources available, some of which are designed specifically for teens who vape.
Consider doing one or more of the following:
- Make a quit plan.
- Talk to your health care provider about tools and resources you can use to help you quit. They may suggest medications to help you manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
- Consider using counseling and medication together. Adults who smoke have the best chance of quitting for good when they use medication and counseling together.
- Learn strategies to manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
- Call a Quit Line to talk with trained quit coaches:
- 1-800-QUIT-NOW
- 1-800-DEJÉLO-YA (Spanish) (Español)
- 1-800-838-8917 (Mandarin + Cantonese) (中文)
- 1-800-566-5564 (Korean) (한국어)
- 1-800-778-8440 (Vietnamese) (Tiếng Việt)
- Get support from text messaging services:
- Get tips and tools online:
- Download the quitSTARTapp to your mobile device.
Vaping and quitting smoking
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any e-cigarette products to help people quit smoking.
A number of studies suggest that e-cigarettes with nicotine may help adults quit smoking compared to e-cigarettes without nicotine or no treatment.123 However, the long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes are still uncertain. While e-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer toxic chemicals than the smoke from cigarettes, it is not harmless.45 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded there was not enough evidence to know if the benefits of using e-cigarettes to quit smoking out-weigh the harms.6
E-cigarettes may have the potential to benefit adults who smoke and are not pregnant if they are used as a complete substitute for smoked tobacco products. Dual use, or using both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes, is not an effective way to safeguard health. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can be dangerous.7 Dual use may result in greater exposure to toxins and worse respiratory health outcomes than using either product alone.8910
FDA has approved seven medications to help people quit smoking. These medications are safe and effective and can double the chance that someone will quit smoking for good. Combining medication with behavioral counseling increases the likelihood of quitting smoking even more.
If you are using e-cigarettes to help you quit smoking, it is important you also make a plan to quit vaping. There is no safe tobacco product. Use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, carries a risk. Quitting use of all tobacco products is the best way to protect your health.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking Cessation. A Report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2020. Accessed Feb 13, 2024.
- Lindson N, Theodoulou A, Ordóñez-Mena JM, et al. Pharmacological and electronic cigarette interventions for smoking cessation in adults: component network meta-analyses. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2023;Issue 9:Art. CD015226.
- Lindson N, Butler AR, McRobbie H, et al. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2024;Issue 1:Art. CD010216.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016. Accessed Feb 14, 2024.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes. The National Academies Press; 2018.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons: Interventions, Final Recommendation Statement. USPSTF; 2021. Accessed Jan 19, 2024.
- Bjartveit K, Tverdal A. Health consequences of smoking 1-4 cigarettes per day. Tob Control. 2005;14(5):315–20.
- Goniewicz ML, Smith DM, Edwards KC, et al. Comparison of nicotine and toxicant exposure in users of electronic cigarettes and combustible cigarettes. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(8):e185937.
- Reddy KP, Schwamm E, Kalkhoran S, et al. Respiratory symptom incidence among people using electronic cigarettes, combustible tobacco, or both. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021;204(2):231–234.
- Smith DM, Christensen C, van Bemmel D, et al. Exposure to nicotine and toxicants among dual users of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes: Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, 2013-2014. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021;23(5):790–797.