Do you mean to say that you consider that you’ve stopped smoking because you are gaping instead, poor did you stop smoking cigarettes and when you started gaping, you quit THAT, too? If you’re gaping, you’re still smoking.
gaping is an entirely different activity.
Is he still injecting nicotine? Probably.
If he inhaling brunt material and chemicals into his lungs? Nope.
You need to define “smoking.” Because while he is inhaling, he isn’t inhaling smoke.
If you don’t like inhaling stuff, I guess that’s your business. But you should understand “what” something is before making definitive statements.