A woman admitted she didn’t initially think she was addicted to vaping, but she slowly realized it was negatively impacting her health and wellbeing.
Beating addiction can be difficult for anybody, but journalist Sophie Law got candid about her own fight to beat her own struggles with vaping.
Writing for the Express Online, Law said even when she was at her worst, vaping ‘dawn to dusk’, she convinced herself it wasn’t as bad, since she wasn’t smoking.
While researchers and scientists have stated vaping is less harmful than traditional smoking, it still comes with risk and due to it being relatively new on the market, there is less known about the long-term effects.
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Law broke down how her addiction worsened over time.
She said: “Like any addiction, the habit crept up on me - initially, it was just a few puffs during nights out with friends or after dinner. Eventually, I found myself tethered to disposable vapes like Lost Mary, unable to leave the house without one.
“Boredom soon turned into an excuse for vaping. Before I knew it, I was vaping from dawn till dusk; I vaped inside my house, at my desk, while watching TV, I even vaped in bed.”
Law noted that she didn’t start to tackle her vape habit until she read a book about addiction. Law explains that the book, Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke, completely changed her perspective.
She also contextualized just how much she was vaping, saying it worked out to the equivalent of 100 cigarettes per week.
She continued: “A Lost Mary BM600 disposable vape is roughly equivalent to 20 cigarettes. This is because it contains 20mg of nicotine.
“At my worst, I was going through five a week. This means I was inhaling 100mg of nicotine into my body, or the equivalent of 100 cigarettes.”
Reflecting more on her battle with addiction, she noted that the book helped her see that her addiction wasn’t solely about the substance, itself but the skewered reward system it altered in her brain.
Nicotine delivers a swift dopamine hit, providing a fleeting sense of pleasure.
It initially offers a pleasurable buzz, but as it wears off, you swing into feelings of unease, irritability, and anxiety.
To address these concerns, Law said she had to grow used to the discomfort, and said instead of indulging in her cravings, they got lesser as time went on.
She also said that she had to minimize temptations and drop habits that would lead her to vape and pick up new, healthier habits.
She also decided to do this cold turkey, meaning she could eventually recalibrate her brain’s reward system.
She is so far having success and has celebrated a month vape-free, finally able to silence the ‘nicotine noise’.
Gerrard Kaonga