Vaping and mental health are closely linked, which can make quitting even harder

Mental health is another factor closely related to vaping: whether people with mental health conditions are likely to start vaping in the first place, how they are doing while vaping, and whether they need additional support to quit.

Here’s what we know about the connection between mental health and vaping, and where to go for support to quit.

What is the connection between mental health and vaping?

An estimated 4.3 million Australians reported a mental health problem in the past 12 months. This includes anxiety and mood disorders (such as depression), which typically begin in adolescence to early adulthood.

We know that vaping and mental health (including anxiety and depression) are linked. People who vape regularly are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to people who have never vaped.

Australia’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey also found that people with higher mental health conditions related to anxiety and depression were four times more likely to vape than those with lower mental health conditions.

And for people with mental health issues, vaping can lead to more severe symptoms of depression and poorer physical health.

The relationship between nicotine vapes and mental health is complicated. People with mental health issues are more likely to start vaping, and people who vape are more likely to have mental health issues. What this doesn’t tell us is which comes first. So we need long-term studies to find out more.

What about self-medicating with vapes?

Some people associate using nicotine vapes with managing mental health or stress. For example, in an Australian survey that asked questions about the perceived benefits of vaping:

Other studies show that people who vape say it can be a way to cope with anxiety, depression or stress.

But instead of addressing these symptoms, vaping can actually make them worse.

For example, a study in the United States found that vaping dependency was linked to increased symptoms of depression. We also know from smoking research that quitting can improve mental health.

Does your mental health affect your smoking cessation?

The evidence regarding mental health outcomes of vaping is still early. And if people have a mental health condition, there is still too little research on what this means for quitting.

But we know that stigma plays a role in both mental health and addiction experiences, which can make it even harder to ask for help to quit.

We also know that mental health conditions can increase the likelihood of relapse after attempting to quit vaping.

What helps to quit?

We have little evidence and guidelines for the best way to help people who vape quit, in general. There is even less evidence about how to help people with mental health conditions quit.

There are vaping cessation programs for people with mental health conditions. And since receiving mental health support increases the likelihood of success in quitting smoking, it may also hold promise for quitting vaping.

While the evidence is still growing, experts recommend that when developing quit plans, consider the severity of a person’s mental health condition, the impact of nicotine use and withdrawal symptoms, and whether medications for the mental health condition interact with medications used to quit vaping.

Read more: Vaping: Teens addicted speak out as Smokefree 2025 releases proposal to raise minimum age

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a form of psychological therapy that looks at how thoughts, behaviours and emotions are connected. It is an effective approach to helping people quit smoking and its principles can be combined with cessation medication to help people quit vaping. People with a mental health condition who vape may be offered cognitive behavioural therapy to help them quit, although specific evidence is still needed to show how well this works.

Psychologists and counselors can also use motivational interviewing to highlight discrepancies between a person’s actions and values. For example, this can be used to highlight the discrepancy between someone who wants to be healthy for their family (their value) but who vapes regularly (their action). This, combined with education, can motivate people to take action and see a future without vaping.

Health care providers and counselors can provide brief advice on how to quit, extrapolating from what works to quit smoking. Services like Quitline can also help mental health providers provide quit support.

How do I find out more?

If you or someone you know wants to quit vaping, regardless of mental health issues, you can use the following resources:

More information about the impact of vaping on adolescent mental health is available here.

Additional reporting by NZ Herald