How I Quit Vaping After 6 Years — AND Why I Still Use Nicotine
Here’s how I kicked the toxic habits, healed my body, and found a smarter way to use this powerful molecule.
I was 15 years old when I saw a vape for the first time.
My friend hit it, did a smoke trick, and then told me to try.
I took a hit, felt hot, juicy grape-flavored smoke, and then proceeded to bend over and cough my ass off.
This was back in the day before Juul came around, so there were only box mods.
They were big, clunky-looking vapes that looked more like an iPhone and blew enormous clouds. They were very modifiable, almost like upgrading a car.
Eventually, I began going to smoke shops and hanging out at the “vape bar” — like a real bar, but you would sit there, play around with the heating coils on your vape, create your own cotton balls, put in different types of juice blends, and then blow away.
Looking back, it was beautiful times. I loved that culture.
That feeling of, “Hey, you're vaping too? Man, what are you vaping on?!”
I even practiced all the smoke tricks in my bedroom while my parents were asleep. O’s, anyone?
Then, around my sophomore year of high school, Juul came around.
This little device was more discreet, more sleek, and looked way cooler than my robo vape.
I could put it in my pocket and go to school, and would use it probably every 30 minutes in one of the men’s bathrooms on the third floor of my school, being very lowkey to avoid the security guards.
Juul was way more powerful with the nicotine, and while I thought I was just casually smoking it, I began to feel some interesting things.
I would be at tennis practice, always after school, and I never brought it — always kept it at home — but then I began taking some hits before practice for the nice buzz and focus effects.
Eventually, I was going through 1–2 pods a day on my Juul (a pod is equivalent to one pack of cigarettes).
I was constantly craving it, and being the broke high schooler I was, I wasted all my money on it.
So I would be at parties or at smoke sessions with my friends always saying, “Hey bro, can I hit your Juul?”
I remember begging people: “I promise I’ll get you once I buy a new pack.”
“Bro, I just ran out, please bro.”
I would go up to strangers. Heck, one time I even stopped my car and went up to the car behind me because I knew they were Juuling, and I asked for a hit.
But hey, I ain’t got no type.
Any flavor, any size. Heck, if you dropped it in the toilet, I probably would’ve fished it out and taken a fat hit.
By the grace of God, after feeling lung combustion, barely being able to keep up with all my friends who played tennis, and learning about the effects, I quit my sophomore year of college.
To be more specific, I quit smoking nicotine.
But I Still Use Nicotine
Why?
Because what I’ve learned—after listening to biohacking podcasts, reading books, and diving into the science—is that nicotine itself is actually amazing for the brain.
It’s a nootropic, which means it enhances your cognitive abilities like memory recall and verbal fluency, and it’s even being studied for Alzheimer’s prevention.
The crazy thing about this whole story is that the real issue isn’t nicotine.
It’s the exposure to all the carcinogens, pesticides, preservatives, and heavy metals found in vape juice and cigarettes that leads to lung issues, cancer, and more.
So, I quit nicotine for a while. Cold turkey.
For about a year. But then I started learning more, and I saw Dave Asprey spraying his mouth with 1 mg of nicotine and talking about the brain benefits—and I had to see what it was all about.
So, listen to this.
If you are flat-out addicted to vaping or cigarettes, I can help you quit the toxic act of smoking.
And if you even have an addiction to nicotine—yes, even the “healthy” kind—I’ll show you how to break that too.
Let’s dive in my people!!!
The real harmful effects of vaping and smoking.
Understanding what was in my vape was the biggest lever in helping me quit.
Just like with tap water—once I learned how nasty it was, I wanted to stay away from it.
Chemicals present in vape juice:
Heavy metals from the heating coils (hello, lead and nickel)
Volatile organic compounds (which mess with your nervous system)
Microplastics from the device and juice packaging
Weird artificial flavor chemicals no one’s really long-term tested
Chemicals present in cigarettes:
Over 7,000 chemicals created when you light it up
At least 70 of those are known to cause cancer
Arsenic, formaldehyde, ammonia—literal poison
Tar and toxins that coat your lungs and blood vessels like sludge
It’s not just that you’re filling your lungs with nasty chemicals—you’re getting winded constantly, your stamina plummets, and your body is building up toxic sludge.
And there’s science backing this up:
Studies show a direct correlation between vaping and low testosterone.
Another study found increased levels of estradiol (a form of estrogen) in male vapers—leading to fatigue, mood swings, and even gynecomastia (aka “man boobs”).
For girls, vaping has been linked to irregular periods, increased symptoms of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and worsened hormonal acne.
There’s also early research showing a potential link between high nicotine + chemical exposure and early menopause or fertility issues later in life.
The True Benefits of Nicotine
In one study, nicotine improved attention and reaction time by up to 30% in healthy adults.
In a trial with non-smoking volunteers, working memory accuracy jumped by 15–20% after a nicotine dose.
Functional MRI scans show increased brain activity in areas tied to focus and decision-making just minutes after use.
A 2020 review found nicotine consistently enhances short-term memory and attention in over 80% of clinical trials.
So when we talk about the dangers of vaping and smoking, we need to place our attention on all the crap that’s inside them—not the nicotine molecule itself.
It's getting a bad rap for being an absolutely amazing molecule. And yes, it’s addictive—but so are superfoods, coffee, red light therapy, and everything else.
Like I said, nicotine in its purest form—a small molecule—is actually amazing for the brain.
And it's not just about temporary focus. Nicotine is also being studied and used as an anti-aging molecule.
There’s evidence that smokers have a 50% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s, with researchers pointing to nicotine’s neuroprotective potential.
How to Quit Your Vaping or Cigarette Habit in Less Than a Month
The goal here is simple: quit the smoking part first.
So, as a veteran vaper, here’s exactly what I’d do to quit.
Step 1: Replace the Smoke, Not the Nicotine
The habit is everything.
It’s the routine, the dopamine hit we get from activating that routine—whether it’s walking outside during your 11 a.m. smoke break or that sweet post-lunch buzz.
Let’s say you have 4–5 “smoke moments” during the day: morning smoke, before work, after lunch, before the gym, etc.
During one of those times, instead of reaching for your vape or cigarette, replace it with a nicotine pouch or gum. You’re still getting the nicotine, still triggering the routine—but you’re not inhaling toxic smoke.
Start slow. Go from 5 to 4, then 3, then 2, until eventually you’re just using the gum or pouch.
Step 2: Add Natural Dopamine and Nervous System Support
When you’re cutting back, it’s crucial to support your brain and nervous system in other ways.
These helped me massively:
3-5 Minute Cold showers or cold plunges every day
Komuso breathing straw (to mimic smoking)
Working out
Surfing or other activities that make smoking impossible
Fun but dangerous hobbies that force presence (skydiving, boxing, etc.)
Step 3: Cigarette Users—Change the Type, Then Quit
One of my friends at our local coffee shop once said, “Man, I can’t stop smoking cigarettes. All my friends have, I just can’t get off them.”
So I told him: Don’t stop. Just change the type.
Instead of buying Marlboros or Newports, start buying organic loose-leaf tobacco like American Spirits and roll them yourself using organic raw hemp papers. Just doing this will eliminate thousands of toxins and carcinogens found in store-bought cigarettes.
When you have your regular smoke, light up your newly rolled cigarette instead.
You’ll notice:
It tastes better
You feel less addicted
You're no longer inhaling preservatives and mystery chemicals
As you detox from those toxins, you’ll feel clearer and crave cigarettes less.
Eventually, once you're down to just one or two hand-rolled ones a day, switch to a nicotine pouch or gum. At that point, you've successfully eliminated the act of smoking altogether.
Step 4: Reframe How You See Yourself
The deeper goal here is to change your relationship with yourself.
If you treat your body like a temple, you'll be less prone to negative behaviors—and more driven toward healthy ones.
I remember one time when I was on a certain mushroom “nootropic.” I felt this deep connection to my body, like it was sacred. And when I vaped or smoked after that, I saw it clearly: I was treating my body like a dumpster. And once you feel that—you can’t unfeel it.
That’s where real change begins.
Bonus Tools to Support the Detox Journey
Essential oils (especially blends that support lung health or cravings)
Eating clean, whole foods
Reading books like The Addiction Free Lifestyle by Ronnie Landis
Getting more energy through natural means so you stop relying on quick hits
Spending more time in nature
Final Thoughts: You Don’t Have to Suffer
The goal isn’t to end up curled in bed, feeling dope sick.
Life is too short for that. But we do have to detox from all the crap—microplastics, chemicals, and mental loops—left behind by smoking and vaping.
If you're trying to quit nicotine completely, you can absolutely use these holistic strategies to help.
But that’s not the main point of this article.
I don’t believe weekly use of nicotine—as a nootropic, cognitive enhancer, or even social aid—is bad. In fact, I think it's good. Temperance is everything.
You have nicotinic receptors in your brain for a reason. Nicotine—when used cleanly and wisely—can be a powerful tool.
But first: you have to break up with the smoke.
Love you.
I’m grateful to my partners who create amazing health & wellness products.
Disclaimer. I am not a doctor. This is just some random stuff I learned on the internet. Pretend it’s a story. Ok bye.
I always suspected it was the additives and pesticides that made smoking so deadly. I still really love rolling (and smoking) an organic smoke now and then, but it's definitely addictive.
Interesting… love your perspective here Jack! Learning Things!