For most people, vacations are the perfect break from their work and daily life routines. At the same time, vacations can be a great chance to reinforce positive and healthy habits. A study published in Psychology Research and Behavior Management found that being in a new or unusual environment positively correlates with tourists’ perceptions of crisis and safety risk. The study found that being in an unfamiliar environment encourages tourists to rethink their attitudes toward sustainable consumption. For travelers who are cigarette smokers, this means that being on vacation may be the perfect time to quit cigarettes for good. Below, we’ll look at some of the reasons why this is the case and some tips to help you stop smoking, even when your trip is over:

Staying healthy during vacations

There’s nothing worse than being sick while out on vacation. Not being able to enjoy a tourist attraction or a location-specific meal can be a bummer, and often this happens over the slightest cold or cough. Fortunately, staying off cigarettes while you’re on vacation may be one way to prevent getting the usual symptoms, and you won’t have to worry about visiting places with anti-smoking laws and regulations either. In a past Travel Babies podcast episode, we spoke about how traveling can be a good motivator for staying healthy. Simple physical exercises that engage your body can go a long way in keeping you fit during and after a vacation, but cigarette smoking gets in the way. In the podcast episode, we discussed the impact of our daily habits at home on our travel habits, and it works the other way around. Establishing healthier habits while traveling — such as quitting cigarettes — will likely translate to your routine back home.

Shifting to healthier spending habits

Traveling can be expensive, even more so if you’re a traveling smoker. A feature from the Pan American Health Organization cites that smokers burn through an average of $1.4 million in personal costs – this includes buying cigarettes, medical costs, and the lower wages brought on by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Tobacco use also contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic necessities such as food and shelter to tobacco products. For travelers, this means that quitting cigarettes will let you set aside more money to spend on other aspects of your travel and vacation experience, such as better food, accommodation, and activities. Not to mention, smoker-friendly facilities such as smoking hotel rooms or modes of transportation can differ in rates, so being able to skip them will save you more in the long run as well.

Tips for quitting during vacation

That said, quitting a long-time habit can be a difficult journey. Even if an unusual environment is conducive, some people may still find a smoke-free lifestyle harder to achieve and maintain than others. Below are some tips for anyone looking to quit smoking on their next vacation:

Pack cigarette alternatives

It can be hard to enjoy a vacation when you’re going through smoking withdrawals, so bringing some alternatives can help you from seeking out cigarettes and let you focus on your travel experience. The selection of nicotine pouches on Prilla — which include top brands such as VELO, ON!, ZYN, and Rogue — offer a 100% tobacco-free nicotine experience, so there is no smoke, odors, or drip. Nicotine pouches are sold in handy tins and are easy to dispose of, preventing littering as you go. Today, many nicotine alternatives, such as Lucy lozenges and pouches, are available on the market to help curb public smoking. Sold in various flavors, they are a popular smokeless alternative to both traditional and electronic cigarettes.

Travel with an accountability partner

Some people rely on smoking cessation smartphone apps to help keep them accountable, but if that isn’t working out for you, having a human counterpart to help distract you from cigarettes is the best alternative. Traveling alone may lead you to break your new smoke-free streak, as you could justify that no one is around to know or tell. A quit buddy eliminates that possibility and can also be a great travel partner. Moreover, you’d have way more fun if you had someone with you to celebrate your wins.

You can think of a vacation as an opportunity for your body to have a fresh start — whether for quitting cigarettes, resetting your body clock, or challenging yourself to eat nutritiously — so embrace these trips as a chance for gradual change.