Understanding why you smoke or vape

The journey towards quitting starts with understanding why you smoke or vape. Here, we look at three aspects of addiction that will help train your brain to live without smoking or vaping.

Knowing your triggers

The first step of retraining the brain to stay quit is becoming aware of your triggers. 

Days can be filled with triggers to smoke or vape, separate to your nicotine dependence. It could be certain emotions or certain situations that trigger your cravings. Once you have identified these triggers, you can find the best ways of managing them to stay free from smoking or vaping. 

Changing your routines

Many people who smoke or vape find changing their daily routine is an effective way to break their habits. 

Smoking or vaping can become so ingrained in life, that the need to smoke or vape may not be a physical thing, but simply a force of habit. To combat this, switching up your routine is essential. Find a new, healthy habit to replace reaching for a cigarette or vape, such as going for a walk, or having a glass of water. Davina swapped her morning cigarette with a morning trip to the gym to help her quit. 

Managing your emotions

Finding healthy ways to cope with emotional challenges without smoking or vaping is one of the keys to staying quit. 

Do you smoke or vape when you're stressed? You're not alone. Reaching for a cigarette or vape can become an automatic response to the difficult emotions in life. Once you’ve identified the feelings that are driving the need to smoke or vape, you can learn to replace it with something healthier. Take a look at our 3 best relaxation tricks to manage stress without smoking or vaping. 

Please note, this information is for general use only.  Please consult your health professional for further advice.  

If you would like to provide feedback, please contact quit@quit.org.au 

Last updated February 2024