Benefits of quitting vaping: what changes, and when
In daily vapers who stopped for a week, heart rate fell from 77 to 71 beats per minute. Withdrawal fades in 3 to 4 weeks (NHS smoking guidance). Ex-smokers report less anxiety and depression; adults who quit vaping rated their mental health better two years on. Cough eases over months in smoking research. And you keep the money.
What happens to your body when you stop vaping?
The first change shows within days. In a 2020 trial, 109 daily vapers, all former smokers, were asked to go 6 days without their vape. Among those who managed it, heart rate fell from 77 to 71 beats per minute over the week. That fits a 2022 review in Circulation: in 5 of 7 lab studies, vaping with nicotine caused short-term rises in heart rate and blood pressure.
The rest of the early timeline is from smoking research, because that is where it was measured. The NHS lists it for ex-smokers: pulse starting to return to normal after 20 minutes, taste and smell improving after 48 hours, easier breathing and more energy after 72 hours, and coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improving over 3 to 9 months. The World Health Organization puts coughing and shortness of breath at 1 to 9 months. None of them measured the same things in people who only vaped, so read them as the pattern, not a promise; what the studies do say about vaping and lungs is on the page about whether your lungs heal after quitting vaping.
Benefits of quitting vaping: what improves and when
| Benefit | When it typically shows | Source basis |
|---|---|---|
| Heart rate falls | Within the first week: 77 to 71 beats per minute | Trial of 109 daily vapers, 2020 |
| Blood pressure stops spiking with each session | Within 20 minutes of the last cigarette in smoking research | WHO; Circulation review of vaping lab studies |
| Taste and smell improve | From 48 hours | NHS, smoking research |
| Breathing feels easier, energy rises | From 72 hours | NHS, smoking research |
| Less cough, wheeze and phlegm | A few weeks to 9 months | NCI, WHO and NHS, smoking research |
| Withdrawal fades: cravings, irritability, poor sleep | 3 to 4 weeks on average (NHS smoking guidance); vaping trial: peak on day 1 or 2, 41 percent still symptomatic on day 6 | NHS, smoking research; trial of 109 daily vapers; smokefree.gov |
| Bigger drops in anxiety, depression and stress than people who kept using | Measured 6 weeks or more after quitting | Cochrane review of 102 smoking studies |
| Better self-rated mental health and quality of life | At a 2-year follow-up; time since quitting not recorded | PATH study, 912 adults who only vaped, 331 of whom quit |
| Lower risk of new depressive symptoms | Over about 18 months | 1,806 young adults, California cohort |
| Money | From day one: a £6 disposable a day is £2,190 a year | UK Department of Health estimate, 2023 |
Does quitting vaping help anxiety and depression?
The studies that followed people after quitting say yes, though the first weeks can feel like the opposite. Smokefree.gov, the National Cancer Institute’s quit site, says you may feel more stressed, irritable or anxious after quitting vaping, that these mood changes are usually temporary while your body adjusts, and that the longer you go without nicotine, the better you will feel.
Past withdrawal, the direction is consistent. A 2021 Cochrane review of 102 studies with more than 169,500 people found that people who stopped smoking saw bigger drops in anxiety, depression and stress, and bigger gains in positive feelings, than people who kept smoking, measured at least 6 weeks after quitting; Cochrane rates its confidence very low to moderate and the gains small to moderate. The NHS sums it up: cutting out smoking improves mood and reduces anxiety. Vaping data is newer. In the US PATH study, 912 adults who only vaped were followed for two years; the 331 who quit reported bigger improvements in mental health and quality of life than those who kept vaping. In a cohort of 1,806 young adults in California, those who stopped vaping were 29 percent less likely to have developed clinically significant depressive symptoms by the next survey than those who kept vaping.
Sleep is the gap: the only vaping measurement is the 6-day trial, where insomnia rose slightly during the week off; the NHS lists difficulty sleeping as a vaping withdrawal symptom and, for smokers, puts withdrawal at 3 to 4 weeks on average. If anxiety or low mood is extreme, or is not going away, talk to a doctor. In the US, call or text 988 at any time.
How much money do you save by quitting vaping?
Do the sum with your own numbers: what you spend on devices and liquid in a typical week, times 52. For a reference point, the UK Department of Health and Social Care put the average cost of a disposable vape at £6 in its 2023 consultation. One a day is £2,190 a year; one every other day is £1,095. Prices differ by country and device, so your receipts beat any average. The NHS lists saving money among the common reasons people give for quitting vaping, next to breaking dependence on nicotine and concerns about long-term health effects.
What changes in your day when you quit vaping?
The routine goes. No charging, no running out at 11pm, no checking a pocket before you leave the house. Cravings are the price in the first weeks: in the vaping trial, craving rose in 62 percent of people and withdrawal peaked on day 1 or 2, and the NHS, in its advice for smokers, says symptoms are strongest in the first 3 days and to stay away for the first 28 days from the places and situations that set you off. After that, urges mostly come with a trigger and pass; the quitting vaping timeline walks through it day by day.
Counting puffs turns those weeks into something you can watch. Puff Counter puts a number on it: one tap per puff, and seeing today’s total sit below yesterday’s is its own motivation; the hourly chart shows which part of the day still needs work. If you want a pace rather than a leap, the quit plan (a Premium feature) sets a daily limit from your own average and lowers it step by step to your quit date.
Count your own puffs
Puff Counter logs each puff in one tap and shows your daily pattern. See the quit plan. Free on iPhone and Android.
Questions people also ask
What happens to your body when you stop vaping?
In a 2020 trial of daily vapers, heart rate fell from 77 to 71 beats per minute during 6 days without vaping, and withdrawal peaked on day 1 or 2 before easing. In smoking research the NHS puts taste and smell improving at 48 hours and easier breathing at 72 hours.
Does quitting vaping cause weight gain?
A little, for some people: in the same trial weight rose from 194.4 to 196.0 pounds (about 0.7 kg) in 6 days without vaping, and the NHS lists feeling hungrier than usual among the withdrawal symptoms of quitting nicotine vapes. In NHS smoking guidance withdrawal fades over 3 to 4 weeks on average, and healthy snacks help in the meantime.
Will my lungs heal if I quit vaping?
The measured evidence is from ex-smokers: within a few weeks they produce less phlegm and cough and wheeze less often (National Cancer Institute), and coughing and shortness of breath decrease over 1 to 9 months (WHO). No source on this page measured the same in people who only vaped; the page on whether your lungs heal after quitting vaping covers the vaping studies.
Is it better to wean off vaping or stop at once?
Both work: a 2019 Cochrane review found similar quit rates whether people cut down first or stopped at once (22 studies, 9,219 smokers, moderate certainty), and the NHS says cutting down nicotine vaping gradually can make quitting easier because your body gets time to adjust. Pick the one you can stick with.
Does quitting vaping help with anxiety?
The studies say yes, once withdrawal passes: a Cochrane review of 102 studies found bigger drops in anxiety, depression and stress in people who quit smoking than in those who carried on, and in the US PATH study adults who quit vaping reported bigger improvements in mental health over two years than those who kept vaping. Smokefree.gov says the mood dip in the first weeks is usually temporary.
Sources
- Hughes JR et al. (2020), Withdrawal symptoms from e-cigarette abstinence among former smokers, Nicotine and Tobacco Research (PMC7171279)
- Neczypor EW et al. (2022), E-cigarettes and cardiopulmonary health: a review for clinicians, Circulation (PMC8820458)
- World Health Organization: Tobacco, health benefits of smoking cessation
- NHS Better Health: Quit smoking (what happens when you quit)
- National Cancer Institute: Harms of cigarette smoking and health benefits of quitting
- NHS Better Health: How to quit vaping
- NHS Better Health: Managing nicotine withdrawal symptoms
- Smokefree.gov (National Cancer Institute): Stress, anxiety, and vaping
- Cochrane (2021): Does stopping smoking improve mental health? (Taylor GMJ et al., CD013522)
- NHS: Stopping smoking for your mental health
- Dai HD, Young B (2025), Changes in quality of life and mental health outcomes related to vaping cessation among US adults, Tobacco Control (PMC12353999)
- Harlow AF et al. (2025), Vaping transitions and incident depressive symptoms among young adults, American Journal of Epidemiology (PMC11879502)
- UK Department of Health and Social Care (2023): Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, consultation (cost of vapes)
- Cochrane (2019): Can people stop smoking by cutting down the amount they smoke first?
Related
This page is general information about vaping and nicotine, not medical advice. If you are worried about your health or want help quitting, talk to a doctor or a stop-smoking service.