How to Quit Vaping in 30 Days: A Plan You Can Prove

Vaping delivers nicotine quickly and can be done almost anywhere, many times a day, without the natural stopping point of a finished cigarette. The habit attaches to more moments of the day than smoking usually does. That is why a plan for quitting vaping has to deal with reach and routine, not only with nicotine.

Craving nicotine, feeling restless or jumpy, trouble sleeping and changes in mood such as feeling irritable or anxious are common withdrawal symptoms. For most people they are strongest in the first few days or weeks and then get weaker and happen less often.

Smokefree.gov, National Cancer Institute. Understanding Withdrawal.smokefree.gov/challenges-when-quitting/withdrawal/understanding-withdrawal

When you first quit vaping, the urge to vape may feel strong. The worst withdrawal symptoms usually last a few days to a couple of weeks.

Smokefree.gov, National Cancer Institute. Nicotine Withdrawal and Vaping.smokefree.gov/quit-vaping-resources/nicotine-withdrawal-vaping

1. Pick your start day within the next three weeks, and tell one person.
2. Before day one: throw away every device, pod, charger and bottle. Do not keep one for emergencies.
3. Put down a deposit you would mind losing, from €25 to €2,000. Your challenge starts when you pay.
4. Get at least ten saliva nicotine tests, and a few spare.
5. Day one: do your first test when you are ready. Your 30 days begin.
6. Days 1 to 7: expect cravings. Each one passes in minutes. Change the moments you used to vape: the first coffee, the walk, the phone in bed.
7. Days 8 to 30: nine more tests come on days you cannot predict. You have 24 hours for each.
8. After the tenth test a person reviews your month. With no missed test and no positive test, your deposit returns in full.

Any nicotine. A saliva nicotine test cannot tell a vape from a cigarette, a patch, gum, a lozenge or a pouch. Nicotine-free liquids are only safe if they truly contain none. If you want to quit vaping with nicotine replacement, a nicotine test is the wrong tool; talk to a doctor or a stop-smoking service instead.

No nicotine in any form during your challenge: no cigarettes, no vaping, no heated-tobacco sticks, no nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, sprays or pouches.

One puff can make a test positive for days. In Membrana the month continues after a positive test, and the decision about your deposit is made after the last check, so a slip is recorded but you still finish the month. Many people need more than one attempt. Start the next month with what you learned.

It suits people who have already decided to stop vaping or smoking and do not fully trust themselves to stick to it. It asks a lot: your own money, and no nicotine at all for 30 days. If you plan to quit with patches, gum or pouches, this is not the right tool.

Membrana is not a medical treatment or a diagnosis and does not replace advice from a doctor. If you are pregnant, have a health condition or take medication, talk to a doctor before you quit.

How long does nicotine from vaping show in saliva?

What nicotine leaves behind in the body stays detectable for some days. A review of test methods explains that how long depends on the level before stopping, how quickly the body clears it and the test's cut-off. For some people it falls below the cut-off in about two days, and the review advises allowing six to seven days to confirm that someone has stopped.

Can I use nicotine-free vapes during the 30 days?

Only if they contain no nicotine at all. Any nicotine makes a test positive.

Do I get my deposit back?

Yes, in full, when every test in your 30 days is negative and a person has reviewed the month.

Is this a medical treatment?

No. Membrana is not a medical treatment or a diagnosis.

Benowitz N. L. et al. (2020). Biochemical verification of tobacco use and abstinence: 2019 update. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 22(7), 1086-1097.doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntz132