How Long Does It Take Your Lungs To Heal From Vaping?

Vaping involves inhaling an aerosol from a device called a vape pen or e-cigarette. The liquid the vape pen heats to produce the aerosol contains nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals. Although research into how vaping affects the lungs is ongoing, it’s clear that it damages them.

If you’ve quit vaping to improve your health and reduce your risk of lung cancer, heart disease, popcorn lung (scarring of small airways in the lungs), collapsed lung and other conditions, you might wonder how long it takes your lungs to heal. This article addresses that crucial question.

Because vape smoke typically has pleasing flavors, it’s easy to think of it as harmless. However, it contains several toxic chemicals, including:

• Diacetyl, which is used to make flavors more intense, damages small airways in the lungs.
• Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical that increases your risk of lung and heart diseases.
• Acrolein, which is also an ingredient in weed killer, damages the lungs.
• Vitamin E, which is beneficial when taken orally or applied to the skin, irritates and damages the lungs when you inhale it.
• Nicotine, which is found in both vape and cigarette smoke, is highly addictive and makes it challenging to quit vaping or smoking.

So, it’s crucial to remember that vape flavors like mango, strawberry and menthol are disguising toxic substances that are harming your lungs and increasing your risk of severe diseases.

Lung Recovery After Quitting Vaping: A Gradual Process

The bad news about vaping is that it damages lung tissue and increases your risk of several health issues. The good news is that the human body is resilient, and studies suggest that your lungs begin healing as soon as you stop vaping.

Keep in mind that researchers don’t yet know how much healing is achievable, and they believe vaping too much for too long can create permanent lung damage. So, the sooner you quit vaping, the more significant your healing will be.

Research indicates that lung function starts to improve two or three weeks after quitting. However, symptoms like coughing and breathing difficulties can remain for a year or longer as the lungs continue to repair damage where they can.

How (and how quickly) quitting vaping affects your lung cancer risk and the risk of other conditions is not yet known.

How To Quit Vaping

If vaping has become a habit for you, quitting can be difficult. However, you can do it!

Your healthcare provider can help you develop a plan, but some tips for success include:

• Picture what life after quitting looks like. Your breathing will improve. You’ll spend less money on vaping supplies. You’ll have more free time that’s not consumed by vaping. You’ll have less worries about health issues.
• Identify and avoid your triggers. When and why do you vape? Avoid those scenarios as much as you can.
• Get help from your friends. Let people know you’re quitting vaping, and ask them to help you stay strong in your efforts.
• Take it one day at a time. Keep your long-term goal in mind while also celebrating each day, week and month that you’ve been successful in avoiding vaping.
• Don’t give up. It’s common to relapse when giving up vaping, but that doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. Talk with people who have successfully quit smoking or vaping, and you’ll find that many of them had to restart the process multiple times.

Get Help Quitting Vaping From Baptist Health

Quitting vaping isn’t easy, but it’s worth the effort. Your lungs will thank you and will likely begin the healing of damaged tissue almost immediately.

When you’re ready to quit, talk with your healthcare provider. They can help you understand the smoking cessation process and direct you to helpful resources.

You can use our online directory to find a provider if you don’t have one.

Next Steps and Helpful Resources

Learn More About Respiratory Care at Baptist Health
Asthma and Smoking
Are E-Cigarettes Bad for Your Heart?
How to Improve Lung Health