Vaping works wonders because with custom mixed juice you can dial back the nicotine content to barely anything over time, then eventually to 0. In the meantime you just keep using it the same way.
Having done this myself, you'd be amazed how quickly you start going "WTF am I doing this for?" after that final step to 0.
There seems to have been a coordinated attempt to stomp out the idea of vaping as a smoking cessation tool, but given how relatively cheap and easy it can be, it's hard for me not to pull out my tinfoil hat when I wonder why that was.
I tried cold turkey, gum, patches, wellbutrin, and probably other methods I've forgotten about over decades. With vaping it was a no brainer.
Not saying these other methods may not also work but I feel like technology has handed us the obvious solution, and while many ex-smokers have figured it out, seemingly no one else has.
That was my experience as well. I smoked for 20 years. One month, 6 years ago, I decided to take the money I would spend on cigarettes and instead use it to buy a really nice vape and juices. This was about $200 at the time since I felt it was the best way to make sure I didn't give it up because I was being a cheapskate and not really giving it a fair shot.
For 2 weeks, I vaped 3mg juices and really liked it. I used menthol juices even though I never smoked menthol because it gave me that good throat hit and really scratched that itch. I then stepped it down to 0mg with my next purchase and went on vacation for my anniversary a week later. I didn't want to damage my nice vape, so I left it in the room for most of the day and used it only in the mornings and evenings but started to get annoyed by the effort I was taking to "make time" to smoke. I never recharged it after that trip and haven't had a cigarette since.
The stepping down that vaping offered me was invaluable, and even though I didn't get the value use of my vape, I was worth it in the long run.
I am still not at 0 nicotine but even the health benefits from switching to vaping are impressive.
You don't need a tinfoil hat. It is pretty clear what the strategy was and it is disgusting.
As someone who has found themselves becoming slightly addicted to/fixated on the mechanical motions associated with vaping THC cartridges, I can imagine having some difficulty stopping that even if the vapor contained no THC. There is something soothing about the whole thing that keeps my mind occupied in a way. It's hard to describe.
I felt exactly this way, but within a few weeks of yanking the nicotine out it started feeling dumb to me. YMMV of course, but you might be surprised at how your viewpoint changes once the active ingredient is no longer there. (I'm not claiming THC is like nicotine, just to be clear.)