Ex-smoker's Lung Capacity Greatly Improves - Vaping Consumer
- Kim
- Jun 8
- 2 min read
My Smoking History I smoked regularly in my late teens and throughout most of my 20s, and while I was never a heavy smoker, quitting was difficult for me. Firstly, I have other health issues so adding withdrawals of cigarettes wasn’t something I wanted to face at that time of my life. Secondly, as I wasn’t a heavy smoker, nicotine replacement products didn’t work that well for me. The nicotine patches (even at low milligrams) gave me heart palpitations and anxiety, and the nicotine gum I tried made me a little jittery too. I may have also tried the nicotine inhaler but since there was no throat hit, it didn’t help me quit.
My Vaping History I started vaping about 10 years ago and have never gone back to cigarettes for any period of time (with the exception of a very disgusting draw or two at my sister’s wedding and a funeral which I instantly regretted). I now actually hate the smell and taste of cigarettes. In comparison, stories of my friends who quit smoking in other ways say they still have the urge to smoke when they smell a cigarette, even 20 years after quitting.
Within a few months of switching to vapes completely (not vaping and smoking at the same time), the sideeffects of smoking for over 10 years improved dramatically. My wheezing completely stopped, food tasted better, my lung capacity greatly improved (able to blow up a balloon effortlessly), I didn’t lose my breath easily when walking or talking and the biggest bonus: I didn’t have any side-effects.
Financially I saved a significant amount of money. I used to spend $20 a day (10 years ago) for a pack of cigarettes. When I switched to vaping, I only paid $25-$35 a fortnight on e-liquid and possibly $50 to $150 a year for vaping devices. The cost of vaping has increased slightly due to better vaping devices available with replaceable parts like coils/tanks etc. but I still spend less than I ever did on cigarettes. If I had smoked today, the savings would be even greater since the cost of cigarettes has dramatically increased compared to when I used to smoke.
Quitting Vaping Yes, I probably should have quit vaping too by now but like I mentioned, my health issues (unrelated to smoking or vaping) make it hard to tackle the withdrawals and there may be a part of me that doesn’t want to yet. It IS a choice for me.
Submission To Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 Inquiry
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