[this is going to be a long one]
For a bit of context my bf of almost 5 years and I have an extreme vaping problem, we are both 17 and from Australia that has strict laws on vaping.
These laws do nothing as there is many places that sell vapes illegally
I’ve struggled with severe mental health (Self harm,PDD,BPD) since I was around 12 along with a cannabis addiction,alcohol problems and a reliance on MDMD for around 4 years and I finally managed to get sober and clean after trying for 2 years (nearly 5 months sober yay me!) but the thing I can’t shake is the vapes it helped me when I was going through withdrawals etc and I’ve been vaping since I was about 11. I used to have the occasional cigarette but not often.
Me and my bf live semi independently in a granny flat at the back of my parents property we pay for water,food and everything ourselves. My parents don’t care if I vape and his parents are aware of it but don’t do anything about it.
He’s been vaping from about 13 years old- please don’t come at us about how young we were. We are very well aware of that bad crowd we were hanging around and the choices we’ve made.
Do not come at me about my parents being careless, my mother has her own mental health problems and my father had a severe cannabis addiction growing up that then transferred to cigarettes to vaping and he has now quit. My bfs father has also struggled with multiple addictions through out his life but is currently clean and only vaping.
My boyfriend works full time as a laborer and I stay at home doing all the tax,government and etc aswell as cleaning,washing etc
I do receive government pay once a fortnight so we share an income evenly.
I’ve been recently diagnosed with Level 3 Autism aswell as severe ADHD and anxiety
I’m on medication for ADHD
My bf also has severe ADHD and is no longer medicated
We both tend to reach for the vape more when we are stressed.
Due to him working full time 9-5 he tends to chew normal sugar free gum to stop the cravings, he is going through a packet of gum everyweek (30-40 peices) but will still have a couple of vape breaks a day. If I’m at home it usually follows me in my pocket and makes it a lot harder to have a break
I’m not currently working due to having a bad experience at my last job with my manager being a creep and struggling with depression.
Our friend group all vapes and couldn’t care less if we were quitting or not. Vapes are extremely easy to get where we live even with laws saying you need a prescription. All you have to do is walk into a legal tobacconist and ask what vapes they have and you’re all good to go Aslong as you have cash.
I was looking at nic free vapes online,such as ones that replace the nicotine with something like melatonin or vitamin B12. I was also looking at nicotine gum/patches but when my father was quitting he would walk around with about 25 patches on his at once and nicotine gum and it took him about a year to quit still, he is currently addicted to nicotine gum actually.
I’ve also thought about my bf possibly mixing nicotine gum with a nic free vape that still provides smoke so he’s still getting a bit of nicotine but the sensation of having a vape. If anyone has thoughts on that I would love to hear it.
Im thinking about buying a packet of cigarettes and limiting myself to 2 sticks a day at most and transitioning to patches,gum or a nic free vape.
Due to my adhd the nicotine helps me concentrate a lot more, my meds contain caffeine to help with concentration like most adhd meds. Due to cigarette smoking being less socially acceptable - you wouldn’t sit outside a shopping centre having a cigg unlike with a vape you can walk through a shopping centre - I think I would be less inclined to pull out a stick and light it up. Also the cigarette scent is a lot stronger and more unpleasant compared to the fruitiness of a vape.
We go through a alibarbar ingot 9000 puffs in an about at week. There has been multiple times that we have stopped during bedroom intimacy to “have a vape break”
Would looking at a doctor prescription for something to help me work better for me due to the vape helping me get clean? Or if anyone has any apps for iPhone that are either free or low priced to help with tracking puff etc (would be extremely beneficial if there was a shortcut to log a hit) we’ve tried the tracking apps at one point but due to having to unlock phone,login to app, then having to log everything separate it wasn’t stuck with for long)
Thank you all so much and I appreciate any suggestions or tips
If anyone as any other questions I can easily answer :)
Please do not be rude or make nasty comments we are genuinely trying to improve on ourselves and quit for good