It’s easy to find angst over vaping online. From TikTok and Instagram to Reddit and Facebook, e-cigarette users trade tips on how to quit, share stories about how they got hooked and count the days since they last hit a vape. And then there’s this idea that’s picking up steam: Start smoking. “All of the reasons that make you want to quit smoking” — on a cold morning, for instance, having to put on shoes and a heavy coat to venture outside — “none of them were there for the vape,” says Shaun Moore, a road-paving superintendent in Utah who turned to smoking last year to quit vaping.
Smoking, these people say, is even more disgusting than vaping, making them less likely to light up. Some roll their own to add another hurdle: “I hate the smell and got some gnarly cigs,” a poster says on Reddit. “It worked!”