Why ‘VApril’ Could be the Best Month to Stop Smoking? 

The Office of National Statistics claims that 60% of smokers want to quit. So what’s stopping them? The 7 million smokers looking to quit the expensive and dangerous habit are being hamstrung by their own stubbornness and lack of willpower. It might be something of a cliche, but quitting smoking is not as easy as it looks. Many millions have tried and failed, so if you yourself have done likewise, there’s no reason to feel ashamed. However, is there some logic in the idea that it’s not necessarily how you choose to quit, but when?

April is a month that many of us associate with either April fools day or Easter, but it’s also the month of Lent – a period historically relevant when it comes to giving up certain vices. That’s why the ‘VApril’ movement has struck such a strong chord with so many people.

VApril

A movement engineered around the concept of quitting smoking by taking up the less harmful (and expensive) habit of vaping via electronic cigarettes, there are currently over 1.5 millions former smokers who claim to have quit through the help of the VApril programme. Everyone who signs up gets a free guide and there are numerous masterclasses happening at vape stores across the country, which introduce vaping as a legitimate alternative and coping mechanism for former smokers.

Vaping is not completely harmless, of course, but it is 95% less harmless than smoking and as around 40% of UK smokers haven’t even tried vaping yet, it could be the perfect excuse to finally quit the habit and there’s no better time to do it than April when the support network is in full swing.

Why Quit?

Besides the obvious smoking-related diseases, the more immediate health benefits of stopping smoking will become apparent almost immediately. Increased stamina, greater lung capacity, and the positive effect it has on your skin should be reason enough to consider quitting and that’s before you even take the cost into account. 

Once you quit, you’ll probably also realise how much your cigarette habit was irritating your friends and family members too. If you’re one to often excuse yourself for a smoke break every 30 minutes during a night out and come back stinking of smoke (a smell that’s almost impossible to get out of your clothes) then you might want to consider setting a quit date.

The Right Date

April might be the perfect month to give up, but you also need to set a ‘final date’ if you really want to take stopping smoking seriously. Steer clear of dates that are particularly stressful as these are dates where you are more likely to turn to tobacco for comfort. Instead, choose a date that’s meaningful, but ‘neutral’ such as a birthday, new year or Christmas. Prepare for the date by easing yourself into vaping or nicotine patches and by the time April is over you might just be free of your vice for good!