Quitting smoking isn’t easy. I started smoking when I was 18 years old – legal at the time – and continued for the better part of two decades. For the last five of those, I was actively trying to quit. After cutting back and attempting to go cold turkey didn’t work, I tried nicotine gum. At the time, no vaping products had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
That changed in 2021, when the FDA began authorizing some vaping products. After trying more traditional methods for two more years, I decided to give vaping a chance. Only two flavors had been approved: tobacco and menthol. Having never liked menthol, I tried the tobacco-flavored vape, which I found disgusting. I quickly switched back to smoking.
Then I tried a flavored vape – yes, one of those sweet fruit flavors – and after five years of failed attempts to quit, I was cigarette-free within two months.
But that avenue of ending a dangerous habit has been shut down.
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Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal