How to Quit Vaping or Smoking: Getting Through Cravings

Most nicotine cravings are brief: a single urge passes within a few minutes whether you give in or not, and the worst withdrawal symptoms usually ease within a few days to a couple of weeks. The first three days tend to be the hardest.

The methods with the strongest evidence are quit-smoking medicines and counseling, ideally together. Your state's quitline is one call away at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). This guide covers the timeline, the symptoms that catch people off guard (anxiety and bad sleep), what helps, and how to rebuild the parts of your day that used to belong to the vape.

How long do nicotine cravings last?

According to the National Cancer Institute, cravings can start within an hour or two of your last cigarette or vape and may come often for the next few days or weeks (NCI). Withdrawal is usually worst in the first week, peaking in the first three days, and its intensity drops over the first month.

Two other numbers help:

• The worst symptoms usually last a few days to a couple of weeks, according to Smokefree.gov, the NCI's quit site (Smokefree.gov).
• A single urge passes within a few minutes, whether you smoke or not, according to Singapore's Health Promotion Board (HealthHub).

Cravings become less frequent over time. Some people still get an occasional mild one months or even years later (NCI), usually tied to a trigger like a drink or an old routine. That isn't a sign you're failing; it's a moment to get through, and it passes.

Is quitting vaping different from quitting cigarettes?

Most vapes contain nicotine, so withdrawal looks much the same: cravings, irritability, headaches, low mood, anxiety, tiredness, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping and extra hunger (Smokefree.gov). Symptoms vary from person to person. The main difference is on the treatment side, covered below.

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms

The NCI lists cravings, irritability, frustration and anger, trouble concentrating, insomnia, restlessness, anxiety, depression and increased appetite as the common symptoms. Headaches, fatigue, dizziness, coughing and constipation are less common (NCI).

Rough timelines from the same fact sheet:

Nicotine withdrawal anxiety

This surprises many people, because nicotine felt like it was calming them down. The CDC explains that smoking only relieves the discomfort of withdrawal; it doesn't treat anxiety or depression. Many people's anxiety and depression levels end up lower after a few months smokefree than they were while smoking (CDC).

For anxiety while you quit, the NCI suggests reminding yourself it will pass, setting aside quiet time morning and evening, taking walks or other physical activity you enjoy, cutting back on caffeine, and trying meditation or relaxation techniques (NCI).

Nicotine withdrawal insomnia

Trouble sleeping is common at first and gets better (CDC). It's worth taking seriously: a 2009 review in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that sleep problems and depressive symptoms during withdrawal were linked to lower quit success (Jaehne et al., 2009).

The CDC's sleep advice while quitting:

• No caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
• No phones, TVs, computers or e-books in bed.
• A quiet, dark, comfortable bedroom.
• No heavy meals or alcohol right before bed.
• Exercise during the day, not just before bed.
• The same sleep and wake times every day, weekends included.
• If you use a nicotine patch, the CDC suggests taking it off an hour before bed. Ask your pharmacist or doctor if your sleep is still off.

Also know that some quit medicines list sleep problems as a side effect: vivid dreams and sleep trouble with varenicline, insomnia with bupropion (FDA). If you're on one and sleeping badly, tell the prescriber rather than stopping on your own.

For more on rough nights, see what to do when you can't sleep.

How to quit vaping or smoking: what actually helps

The US Preventive Services Task Force concluded with high certainty that behavioral counseling and FDA-approved medicines, alone or combined, substantially help adults quit smoking, and that combining the two raises quit rates further (USPSTF, 2021).

Quit-smoking medicines

The FDA-approved options fall into three groups (FDA):

• Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT): patches, gum and lozenges over the counter for adults 18 and up, plus a nasal spray and inhaler by prescription.
• Varenicline, a prescription tablet.
• Bupropion, a prescription tablet.

A 2018 Cochrane review of more than 130 trials found that NRT increased the chances of quitting smoking by 50% to 60% (Hartmann-Boyce et al., 2018). Smokefree.gov also notes that pairing a long-acting product (the patch) with a short-acting one (gum or a lozenge) can help with tough cravings (Smokefree.gov).

Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before you start. Which product and dose make sense depends on how much nicotine you use and on your health: heart disease, blood pressure, depression, pregnancy and other conditions all matter (FDA). This article doesn't give doses on purpose.

If you vape: these medicines are approved for quitting cigarettes, not vapes. The FDA hasn't approved them for quitting vaping, but a doctor can tell you whether they might help in your case (Smokefree.gov).

If you're thinking of switching to a vape to quit cigarettes: the USPSTF found the evidence on e-cigarettes for quitting insufficient (USPSTF, 2021), and the FDA hasn't approved any e-cigarette as a quit aid (NCI).

Coaching and support

• 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) connects you to your state's free quitline (CDC).
• NCI's quitline, 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848), weekdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and NCI's LiveHelp online chat (Smokefree.gov).
• SmokefreeTXT: text QUIT to 47848 for daily tips and support.

How to get through a craving: the 4 Ds

Singapore's Health Promotion Board teaches a simple four-step routine for the moment a craving hits (HealthHub):

1. Delay. Stall for a few minutes. The urge will peak and fade on its own. A mint or a short video can buy you the time.
2. Deep breathing. Smokefree.gov suggests breathing in through your nose and out slowly through your mouth, ten times (Smokefree.gov).
3. Drink water. Sip slowly. It keeps your hands and mouth busy.
4. Distract. Switch activities: a quick walk, a few flights of stairs, a puzzle, a text to a friend.

Other tactics from Smokefree.gov and the CDC: keep your mouth busy with gum, carrots or sugar-free mints; spend a few minutes helping someone; add up the money you're saving; and go somewhere you can't smoke or vape (Smokefree.gov, CDC).

Plan for your triggers (especially the evening)

Triggers are the people, places and things that make you want to vape (Smokefree.gov). Common ones are coffee, stress, the drive home, a break at work, and the hour on the couch at night. Alcohol is a big one: Smokefree.gov suggests staying away from it for a few weeks after you quit (Smokefree.gov).

For each trigger, decide in advance what you'll do instead. A replacement works best when it fits the same slot: same time, same place, something for your hands and attention. The vape was doing several jobs at once, so the plan may need a few pieces.

Where ASMR fits (and where it doesn't)

To be clear up front: there are no studies on ASMR for nicotine cravings or for quitting. We couldn't find a single one. ASMR is not a quit method, and it won't replace medicine or counseling.

What the research does show is that ASMR relaxes many of the people who respond to it. In a lab study, people who experience ASMR felt calmer while watching and their heart rate dropped by an average of 3.41 beats per minute compared with a control video (Poerio et al., 2018). In a survey of 475 ASMR fans, 98% watched to relax and 82% to help them sleep (Barratt & Davis, 2015). Not everyone feels it, and these are small studies.

So ASMR may be useful in a few specific ways while you quit:

• As your "delay." A short video is a natural way to wait out the few minutes a craving lasts.
• As the new evening slot. If your night ended with a vape on the couch, a set routine (lights low, same chair, one chosen video) gives that time a new shape. The NCI's advice to set aside quiet time in the evening fits here.
• For restless hands and attention. Trigger assortment videos switch between tapping, crinkling and other sounds, and hand movement videos give your eyes something slow to follow. That may keep some of the restless energy busy that used to go into the vape.
• At bedtime. If withdrawal is wrecking your sleep, a quiet, long video played as audio only, screen face down, with a sleep timer, may help you wind down.

Keep the expectations right. If a video takes your mind off a craving for ten minutes, that's a win. If it doesn't, move on to the next D: walk, breathe, drink water, call someone. For a broader look at relaxation tools during recovery, see ASMR and addiction recovery.

A simple plan for the first two weeks

1. Pick a quit day and tell a few people.
2. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about NRT or a prescription medicine, and call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to reach your state's quitline.
3. Clear out vapes, pods and chargers before day one.
4. Write down your top five triggers and one replacement for each.
5. Plan your evenings. Cut caffeine after lunch, skip alcohol for now, and keep a fixed wind-down routine.
6. Use the 4 Ds every time a craving hits. Count how many you've gotten through.
7. Expect days 1 to 3 to be the hardest. That's normal, not a sign it isn't working.

If you slip, Smokefree.gov's advice is to treat it as a temporary setback, not a failure: recommit, remember your reasons, and work out what triggered it so you can plan for next time (Smokefree.gov). Setbacks are a normal part of quitting (Smokefree.gov).

When to get more help

• Low mood or anxiety that isn't improving after a couple of weeks, or that feels unmanageable: contact a healthcare provider (CDC). People with a history of depression may have stronger symptoms and should mention it to their doctor (NCI).
• Sleep problems that persist: talk to your doctor, especially if you're on a quit medicine.
• If you're also trying to cut back on alcohol or other drugs, SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential and open 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals and information (SAMHSA).
• If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 911 (CDC).