Why It’s Time To Break Up With Vaping For Good
We’ve entered a new year, and would you believe, vaping is still seriously messing with young people’s health.
Despite the growing evidence that vaping can cause lung damage and the fact that they contain cancer-causing chemicals, some people across the country are still choosing to vape. In NSW, about 20 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 currently vape (daily or occasionally).
The answer is simple — we need to stop.
Thankfully, these days, there are tools to help you on your quitting journey, such as Pave, a free quitting app that will help you track your progress and cope with cravings.
But any quitting process may have setbacks. So we sat down with Annie*, a 24-year-old Sydneysider, who recently quit vaping, to finally ask about what that journey is really like.
A toxic situation
When you ask Annie about her experience vaping, it’s clear she has complex feelings.
“I first vaped when I was 19 years old on New Year’s Eve. It was the silly season of 2020,” she said.
“I was on a night out with friends when I decided I was going to buy one, so that just shows you how, at 19, I was trying way too hard to seem older, probably because of the guy I was dating, who was 23 at the time.”
Although Annie’s initial vape use was somewhat casual, it quickly progressed from now-and-then to a regular occurrence.
“It’s the same as many people. It started as a social thing,” she said. “Then it quickly became ‘I’ll have a vape after a long day at work’, and ‘after I send this email’, and ‘after each meal’. From there, the habit grew.”
Her health began to take a hit
After several years of vaping off and on, Annie decided to quit when she realised how aggressively it was impacting her health. She was always tired and lethargic, struggling with shortness of breath, and suddenly finding “a quick walk to the bus stop felt like a half-marathon”.
Symptoms like these are hardly unexpected, given that vapes contain hundreds of toxic chemicals. What are some of these chemicals? Well, there’s acrolein, which is found in weed killer and is toxic to the heart and lungs. As well as chlorine, found in disinfectant and can cause lung damage, and arsenic, famously found in poisons and causes damage to internal organs. And that’s just to name a few.
Annie found that it began to impact her mental health as, like many, she’d started experiencing brain fog and increased anxiety. “It was the constant impending doom that my lungs may fade away, and my body will inevitably deteriorate,” she said.
I don’t know about you, but personally, I prefer my days “impending doom”-free.
Her journey to quitting
Annie’s first go at quitting was in January 2025 — a tough time of year, given summer is one of the most social periods on many of our calendars.
“I quit vaping on New Year’s Day last year, and it went very well, especially given that January is a big month of socialising for me,” she shared. “I even got through my birthday party and had so much more energy in the mornings. I was actually doing exercise, like swimming laps and going on runs.”
Unfortunately, her vape-free streak abruptly ended when, in the excitement of getting a new job, she found herself in a smoke shop, and suddenly her addiction was back in business.
Kicking the habit for good
Over the past year, Annie noticed more of her friends quitting vaping. “A bunch of my friends stopped,” she told us, “and it definitely made quitting seem more possible.”
Inspired by their success, Annie took some of their tips on board, including using nicotine patches, tracking her progress on the free Pave app, and partnering with co-workers to help hold her accountable.
And this year, Annie is making her second attempt to finally break up with her vape.
When we spoke with her, she was fresh off an active weekend at the beach with her friends and just last week, she celebrated her 24th birthday — vape-free.
“I feel very proud and very strong that I was able to give up such an addictive habit,” she said.
And bestie, we’re proud of you too!
If you’re hoping to finally give up vaping, like Annie, you’re not alone.
Start your quitting journey by seeking help. Head to Cancer Institute NSW to understand exactly what vaping is doing to your body and access tips to help you quit. For hands-on support, download Pave, a free quit vaping app, to help you become vape-free.
*Name changed for privacy.
