How to stop vaping. New guidelines available
Posted on March 29, 2022 By Colin
The world’s first guidelines to assist vapers who want to quit vaping have been released today by the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
The guidelines are designed for health professionals to support both adults and youth from age 15 years. They include behavioural therapies and medication and are based on approaches to stop smoking.
The guidelines have been developed from the limited research evidence available and the opinions of a group of experts in the field. I am proud to have been on the expert committee which developed these guidelines. They were commissioned by Ontario’s Ministry of Health.
A range of assessment tools is provided which can be used to measure how dependent (addicted) you are to vaping.
Some practical advice
- Weaning is recommended. The suggested treatment duration is a minimum of 8 - 12 weeks but some people may require longer
- Strategies which may be useful include seeing a health care provider for one-on-one counselling, using an app, a web-based program or a text messaging program and calling a helpline for cessation support
- There is no evidence so far for using medications to help people quit vaping. However standard stop-smoking medicines could be tried if you are willing
However, not everyone can quit, especially people with mental illness or substance use disorders. The guidelines recommend that health professionals provide ongoing support for vaping in these cases. Longer-term support may be required due to the higher risk of relapse. Continuing to vape is far safer than relapsing to smoking.
Other issues raised
- It is always best to stop vaping if you can
- People who are dual using (smoking and vaping) should switch to vaping-only if possible
- If you have mental illness and/or substance use issues you may require more frequent counselling and the addition of peer support (people with lived experience) to adhere to treatment plans.
- If you can’t quit vaping, it is wise to try to minimise your ongoing risk eg quality products, low power devices, smaller clouds
Documents
Vaping Cessation Guidance Resource