Quit Victoria and Peninsula Health’s Health Promotion team worked in partnership to capture Lily’s story on how she was able to quit vaping. Vaping involves using e-cigarettes (also known as vapes) which are lithium battery-powered devices filled with liquids like nicotine, artificial flavourings and chemicals (Quit Victoria 2024).
Lily was vaping socially as she saw it as the “cool thing”. Quickly, this turned from being a social activity to one where she was vaping every day. Lily talks about how she began vaping every hour and the stress she felt if she ever lost her vape. She didn’t believe that she was addicted and felt she could quit at any time. Many of the people she surrounded herself with were also vaping.
Lily came to a point where she wanted a lifestyle change, she didn’t like how sluggish she was feeling whilst vaping. She also felt that her life when vaping was mundane and demotivating. Lily managed her cravings and worked through each desire until it became more manageable for her. She surrounded herself with people who were more focused on mental health and wellbeing.
Lily’s advice to those wanting to quit vaping is that “it’s not as scary as you think it is… you won’t lose all your friends”. Lily has seen positive changes through quitting and found that running really helped her, “the runners high is unmatched”.
Watch Lily’s story here.
If you or someone you know is wanting support to quit smoking or vaping please go to http://www.quit.org.au/ or call Quitline on 13 78 48. Quit Victoria offer support via phone, text, WhatsApp and Facebook messenger.
Written by: Health Promotion Practitioner Tess Marchant