Best Vape Alternative to Help You Quit

So you want to quit vaping and become smoke free. Great! And what's even better is that you're being smart about it. Instead of just trying to quit cold turkey, with nothing to take the place of the vaping habit you may have spent months or years developing, you're looking for a vape alternative. Good idea. And we've got you covered.

Whether you're trying to give up tobacco, or are saying goodbye to any vape that contains nicotine, below we share some recommendations for alternatives that can help you kick the vaping habit.

But … not all of them will be relevant to you. This process isn’t one-size-fits-all. That's because not everyone is giving up the same thing when they quit vaping.

Some people are kicking a nicotine or tobacco habit. Some are just kicking the "physical" habit of bringing a vape to their mouth, inhaling, and exhaling with no nicotine involved. This is what’s usually called the "oral" fixation associated with both vaping and smoking. And some will be dealing with all of the above.

If you need to get your body accustomed to a life without nicotine, a highly addictive chemical — the claims of big tobacco notwithstanding — you may want to explore one set of alternatives. If nicotine isn’t part of the equation for you, then there's another set to consider.

Take a look at our vape alternative recommendations below, see where your needs match with our suggestions, and give them a try.

One Step at a Time Part 1: Wean Yourself Off of Nicotine First

If you prefer taking a slow and steady approach (which might make quitting easier for you), and nicotine is part of your vaping habit, consider switching completely to a vaping alternative that allows you to keep up the physical motions of vaping without getting the nicotine hit.

For this approach, we can recommend several products.

MELO Air & HELO Air

Both MELO Air and HELO Air are alternative vapes that are part of our list of 12 Best Nicotine-Free Vapes, because they can supply you with one part of the vaping experience — the hand-to-mouth action you get with a nicotine (or any other) kind of vape — but without the harmful nicotine.

Instead, the MELO Air device delivers relaxing melatonin when you inhale. That means MELO Air is a vape that does "double duty" in your quitting quest. Not only does it mimic the physical activity of vaping nicotine, it can help calm your cravings with relaxing melatonin.

MELO Air gives you 400 inhales from a single device, so it should last you a while. And it's available in several flavors — Peach, Midnight Mint and Lavender Dream, among others.

HELO Air is an alternative that takes a different approach. Because nicotine is a stimulant, giving it up may have your body searching for a substitute energy pick-me-up. Enter HELO. Unlike MELO Air, which delivers a relaxing hit of melatonin, HELO Air is a device that delivers energy thanks to a jolt of caffeine.

Just like with MELO Air, you get 400 inhales from every HELO Air. It's available in a variety of flavors as well, including Mango, Cherry Cola and Red Apple Peach, to name a few.

ZERO Air

From the makers of the HELO Air and MELO Air vapes comes the ZERO Air device — "plant-powered puffs" that take no-nicotine vaping a step further by including absolutely nothing in its formulation besides "flavored air," unlike other e-cigarettes.

ZERO Air can be a great choice for you if you're ready to make a change, but don't need or want anything "functional" in your vape, like caffeine or melatonin. It’s a healthy vape alternative (and one of our best vapes to quit smoking), that will deliver flavor with each puff while keeping your hands and mouth busy. It even mimics the action of smoking cigarettes or vaping.

ZERO Air comes in six flavors — Heaven, Jolly Berries, Magic Mint, and more — with each device good for around 2,000 inhales.

One Step at a Time Part 2: Break the "Oral Fixation" First

Let's say you instead want to take the approach where you stop the repetitive hand-to-mouth habit of vaping, but take more time to wean yourself off of nicotine. That’s a long way of saying that you’re looking for oral fixation smoking alternatives.

For that, there's a whole host of nicotine replacement options and alternatives that will give your body a low dose of nicotine to ward off cravings, but without the vaping. We talk about these in depth in our article on e-cigarette alternatives, but here's a summary of your options in this area.

Nicotine Lozenges, Gum and Patches

While Nicorette is the big brand name in nicotine lozenges and gum, you can also find generic alternatives (along with their brand name counterparts) at most pharmacies. Many "big box" stores also sell them under store brands, which allows you to save a bit of money.

Gum and lozenges are "active" nicotine replacements, meaning you do something to activate them. That active engagement means these methods are sometimes preferred by both smokers who are giving up cigarette smoking or ditching tobacco products, as well as vapers. They’re different from patches, which deliver nicotine into your system passively (more on this in a second).

Gum is chewed for a few seconds and then "parked" between your cheek and gum where it slowly releases its nicotine, while lozenges are allowed to dissolve in your mouth, similar to Life Savers.

Because gum and lozenges keep your mouth occupied, they can help you slowly overcome the oral fixation component of vaping.

Patches are also available without a prescription and, like lozenges and gum, should be available in most drugstores. Unlike gum and lozenges, however, there's nothing to do with a patch besides apply it. Once on your skin, it slowly releases nicotine into your bloodstream throughout the day.

Plow Ahead and Kick the Habit Completely All at Once

Finally, we come to the last category — the folks who don't want to draw out the process … the ones who are going to try and quit cold turkey.

Many people who've completely quit either smoking or vaping will tell you that it was one of the hardest things they've ever had to do. So know that it probably won't be easy. But that doesn't mean it's impossible!

However, sometimes simply being brave and wanting to tackle all the components of a vaping addiction in one go isn't enough for you to be successful. You may want to consider at least giving yourself a hand with products that can help take the edge off of the cravings you're going to be fighting.

CBD Gummies to Curb Cravings and Help You Relax

Whether you're breaking a nicotine addiction, an oral fixation issue, or both, when you make a sudden and radical change to your routine, symptoms of withdrawal are likely to follow.

Many people have found relief by turning to products like CBD gummies. They’re popular products even among people who've never touched a vape or cigarette in their life, but who use them to help with conditions like anxiety. So of course they've also been used by smokers and vapers who want to quit smoking cigarettes and by people giving up vape products.

Although we're not making any health claims, the thinking is that if it helps for everyday anxiety, it should also help you deal with withdrawal, since the symptoms can be similar. Indeed, that's what many ex-vapers and smokers report.

We've covered gummies to help you quit in an earlier article (check out Top 10 Gummies to Quit Smoking Cigarettes if you want to go more in-depth) But to sum up — companies like Batch, Penguin, MedTerra and CBDfx were all highly rated in our survey and offer gummies with various strengths of CBD and no THC (the chemical in marijuana responsible for getting your high).

Also, remember that MELO Air (mentioned above) is a no-nicotine vape that contains melatonin, which can help you relax while satisfying the hand-to-mouth motions of standard vapes.

You Can Do it … and Your Body and Your Lungs will Thank You

Let's not sugarcoat the facts. Giving up vaping probably won't be a walk in the park. People who've done it, as well as those who've quit smoking and given up tobacco, will tell you that. But many of the products we've talked about in this article can make it easier.

Alternative vapes — i.e. vapes that come with taste but that don't contain any nicotine, like MELO Air, HELO Air or ZERO Air — are one route to take. Combined with nicotine replacement therapies (if nicotine is part of your addiction), you'll probably find it easier than if you simply try to quit everything cold turkey.

We hope this helps. And your body will definitely thank you once you ditch those nasty nicotine vapes for good, and you start feeling the positive health effects!