“For me personally, I fell off the wagon when I was at a music festival in Summer, 2016. My vape ran out of battery, I was drinking, and around people who were smoking. I bought a box of cigarettes there and ended up back smoking for about a month. It took me a while to get back to where I was, but once I decided that enough was enough and got back to vaping; I haven’t looked back since”   - Kevin (Hale Vaping)

Maybe you're out having a few drinks, maybe you're away and your device ran out of battery, or maybe it's simply just a stressful day! You've been vaping for a while, haven't gone anywhere near tobacco and everything seems to be going well.. and you have a cigarette.

It happens. We know it does, we see it with customers in our shops, we see it with our friends and family and it has even happened to a couple of us here in the Hale Vaping offices.

While it may seem disappointing or frustrating at first, it is easy to fall back into old habits, and there a couple of things that are important to remember if you find yourself in this situation.

When you have a cigarette:

First and foremost, if possible, it is a good idea not to dwell too much on the situation. There is plenty of time to think about the “why” you went back to smoking (which we will talk about shortly) when you’re back off the cigarettes. The important thing at this point is to get back to where you were:

• Remember the reasons why you quit in the first place.

• Remind yourself how well you were doing and how it helped initially.

• Just start again; building yourself up can help but the best thing you can do is not buy cigarettes, not smoke and just get back vaping.

When you’re starting again:

You may find it harder to get back into vaping the same way you were before when you’re coming back to it. There are a couple of things you can do to facilitate this:

• If you’re finding you’re not getting enough of a hit or you’re still getting cravings; try briefly going up a nicotine strength or mixing in a stronger strength into your normal liquid until you’re past the initial switching stage again.

• Explain to your friends and family who may offer you cigarettes that you are trying to switch again and that they should not provide you with any under any circumstances.

• Continue to build yourself up as mentioned in the previous section.

When you’re back to where you were:

Congratulate yourself for getting back to where you were, as you well know, it is a difficult thing to switch and you should be proud to be able to do it more than once. Now is the time to think about why you went back in the first place and there are a couple of things you can do to address these in the future:

• If it was a case where you were out and the temptation of cigarettes was too much; one of the things that we find to be most effective in helping this is using a variable power device (the Innokin EZ.Watt is great for those starting out with variable power). With this, you can adjust the power to give yourself a stronger or weaker hit on the fly. i.e. A weaker hit in the mornings etc. and a much stronger hit when you need it on nights out etc.

• The above method can help with days when you are having particularly bad cravings or you are feeling stressed. Willpower is always going to be the strongest ally you have in this situation though.

• Lastly, if you find you are running out of power often, there are a couple of options; Ensure the device is constantly charged; Pick up a second, similar or backup device and keep it on your person for times when you forget to charge it. You could also get a power-bank, and likewise, ensure it is charged and on your person to have that backup available. 

It is never going to be the easiest thing in the world; but with a combination of the above, willpower, and support from family and friends; briefly falling back into old habits with smoking doesn’t have to be the end of your quitting journey.

- Ask Hale

If you have a general question you want featured in the Ask Hale blog send an email over to askhale@halevaping.com. If your question is featured on the blog, you will get a 25% off voucher to use on your next online purchase!