What happens to your body when you give up vaping as government confirms UK ban date

Here is exactly what happens to your body when you give up vaping, as the UK government confirms plans to ban disposable vapes.

After months of Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party discussing restrictions on vapes, and even more promises from the previous Conservative government, the day has finally come, disposable vapes will be banned in the UK next summer.

Citing environmental concerns and a steep rise in children and young people taking up the habit, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has confirmed that all disposable vapes will no longer be sold from June 2025.

The department confirmed that all businesses will have until this date to 'sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force'.

Vape shops will soon look very different (Getty Stock Images)

So savour your clouds of fruity-scented smoke while you still can, as we are just over six months away from the ban coming into effect.

Or maybe this news is the sign you needed to finally commit to healthier choices and put down the e-cigarette for good? If so, here is everything that happens to your body when you decide to give up vaping.

20 minutes without vaping

No one is saying that quitting vaping is going to be easy, but your body will begin to thank you within just 20 minutes of stopping.

According to Nikola Djordjevic MD - project manager at Med Alert Help - your 'your heart rate returns to normal, your blood pressure drops, and your circulation starts to normalise' after 20 minutes.

And the positive side effects only increase from there.

Caleb Backe, a certified health and wellness expert for Maple Holistics, added that breathing will also become easier, saying: "When you quit vaping, you should find that your breathing becomes less laboured and your airflow is clearer."

24 hours without vaping

"After just one day, your heart attack risk starts to decrease," Djordjevic added, explaining that the positive changes are due to your blood pressure and cholesterol returning to normal.

"Thanks to the lowering of blood pressure, rising blood oxygen levels, and reducing the negative influence on cholesterol levels and the formation of blood clots," she said.

You'll begin to experience side effects at this point, however this is said to 'gradually decrease' in the following weeks.

Months without vaping

The positive changes continue into the next weeks and months, with nicotine taking around three days to exit your system. After one month your lungs will start to recover.

"After one month, your lung capacity improves," Djordjevic revealed. "There’s noticeably less shortness of breath and coughing."

She continued: "After nine months, lung health improves significantly thanks to the renewal of microscopic hair-like structures inside the lungs that help push out mucus and fight infections."

The side effects of withdrawing will also begin to decrease at this point.

It can take just 20 minutes for your body to begin the detoxing process (Getty Stock Images)

Vaping and cancer

When it comes to your risk of developing cancer, there is less information currently available on the links between vaping and cancer. This is because vaping is still relatively new and e-cigarettes don't contain tobacco, which is a known carcinogenic.

Information published by Cancer Research UK notes that e-cigarettes are useful in helping cigarette smokers quit and decrease their risk of getting cancer, however their guidance adds that vaping isn't currently advised for anyone who hasn't previously smoked.