Stoptober is back this October, and this year it starts on the same day the new vape tax does. If that timing has you wondering whether switching to vaping is still worth it in 2026, this page is the honest answer: yes, by a distance.
Read on for the maths, the NHS position, and the kit we would hand a smoker who wants the simplest possible start.
What is Stoptober and when does it start?
Stoptober is the NHS Better Health campaign that challenges smokers to go smoke free for 28 days of October, starting 1 October. It is about smoking, not drinking: the alcohol one is Sober October, a separate charity campaign that shares the month. Stoptober's own advice lists vaping among the quit tools that work, which is where this guide comes in.
Does the vape tax mean it is not worth switching?
No. The gap between smoking and vaping is so wide that the duty barely dents it.
A 20-a-day smoker spends about £116 a week on cigarettes. A vaper on one 600 puff pod a day spends roughly £15 a week, and after the duty arrives that becomes roughly £19. The tax adds about 53p to a 2ml pod. Tobacco duty rises on exactly the same day, so the gap between the two gets wider, not narrower, and that is deliberate government policy.
Over a year that is roughly £6,000 against roughly £800 with the tax included. The full arithmetic, with sources for every figure, is in our guide to whether vaping is cheaper than smoking, and our savings calculator will do your own numbers.
What the NHS says about switching
The NHS is clear on two things:
1.Vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking
2.It is one of the most effective tools for quitting.
That is why Stoptober's own advice points smokers towards vaping as a quit aid.
The NHS is equally clear on the boundaries, and so are we. Vaping is not risk-free, it is for adult smokers and existing vapers, and if you do not smoke you should not start. The goal is off cigarettes first, then down the nicotine ladder at your own pace.
The kit we would hand a 20-a-day smoker: a 600 puff vape
You can spend £30 on a kit with screens and settings. For a first month off cigarettes, we would not. A 600 puff prefilled kit does the job better, and here is exactly why.
The draw feels like a cigarette: a tight mouth-to-lung pull, fired by inhaling, with nothing to press
There is nothing to learn: pods click in sealed and ready, no filling, no coils, no settings
It is cheap now: kits from £2.99, and pods from about £1.75 each
It stays cheap after the tax: the duty is on liquid only, so the kit itself is never taxed and each 2ml pod picks up about 53p
Each pod is a known quantity: 2ml of 20mg nic salt, which carries roughly a pack's worth of nicotine, so a pod a day maps neatly onto a pack a day.
What happens when you stop smoking and start vaping
The recovery timeline below comes from stopping burning tobacco, and it starts whether you quit cold or switch to vaping. What vaping changes is your odds of staying off the cigarettes while it happens, because the nicotine and the hand-to-mouth habit carry over while the smoke does not.
The NHS timeline in short: after 20 minutes your pulse starts returning to normal. After 8 hours your oxygen and carbon monoxide levels are heading back towards a non-smoker's.
After 48 hours taste and smell improve, which is when food starts surprising people. After 72 hours energy picks up. Between 2 and 12 weeks the coughing and breathlessness ease, and by 3 to 9 months breathing problems are measurably improving. At one year, your risk of coronary heart disease is half a smoker's.
None of that requires the nicotine to go. It requires the smoke to go, which is the whole logic of switching.
Which nicotine strength should you start with when switching?
Match the strength to what you smoked: 20mg nic salt if you were on 15 or more a day, 10mg if you smoked less. Starting too low is the classic first-week mistake, because an unsatisfying vape sends you back to the shop for cigarettes. Our nicotine strengths guide goes deeper if you are between sizes.
Your first week, done simply
Vape when you would have smoked: the kettle, the drive, the break. Keep the ritual, swap the tool
Keep it charged: a flat battery at the wrong moment is how first weeks can fail. USB-C tops these kits up fast
Do not ration it: this month is about not smoking, not about vaping less
Keep a spare pod on you: the corner shop sells cigarettes, your pocket should sell you a pod first
After Stoptober: the step down
Once the 28 days are behind you and cigarettes are not, the nicotine itself becomes the project - on your schedule and nobody else's. Strengths step down from 20mg through 10mg, and the road ends at 0mg if you want it to: our nicotine free vapes range exists for exactly that last step.
Free help is available too. Your local Stop Smoking Service costs nothing, supports vaping as a quit tool, and the campaign's own figure says making the full 28 days makes you five times more likely to stay off cigarettes for good.
Vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking but it is not risk-free, and it is intended for adult smokers and existing vapers. If you do not smoke, do not vape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Stoptober about smoking or drinking?
Smoking. Stoptober is the NHS stop smoking campaign held every October since 2012. The drinking one is Sober October, a separate charity fundraiser that shares the month. If you are here to quit cigarettes, Stoptober is yours, and vaping is one of the quit tools its advice points to.
Which vape is best to start with for Stoptober?
For most smokers, a 600 puff prefilled kit. The draw is tight and cigarette-like, there is nothing to fill or set up, the kit costs a few pounds, and each 2ml pod of 20mg nic salt carries roughly a pack's worth of nicotine. It is the closest swap for the habit you already have.
Should I cut my nicotine strength during Stoptober?
No. One change at a time. October's job is to stop smoking, and nicotine at a strength that matches your old intake is what makes that stick. Stepping the strength down is a separate project for the months after, once cigarettes are behind you, and it can end at 0mg when you are ready.
Can I use a vape alongside my local Stop Smoking Service?
Yes, and the evidence says the combination works better than either alone. The service gives you free structured support and the vape handles the nicotine and the hand-to-mouth habit. Local Stop Smoking Services are free through the NHS and most are happy to support vaping as your quit tool.