Quit Tips: 5 Tips to Help you Quit Smoking

Updated by Ellen on Wed, 12/03/2008 - 11:18am

Are you a smoker who wants to quit? Then try following this advice.

1. Don’t smoke any cigarettes. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. If you try to smoke fewer cigarettes, but do not stop completely, soon you’ll be smoking the same amount again. Smoking "low-tar, low-nicotine" cigarettes usually does little good, either. Because nicotine is addictive, if you switch to lower-nicotine brands you’ll likely just puff harder, longer, and more often on each cigarette. The only safe choice is to quit completely.

2. Write down why you want to quit. Do you want to—

  • Stop wasting money on cigarettes?
  • Protect your family from breathing other people’s smoke?
  • Feel in control of you life?
  • Have better health?
  • Set a good example for your children?
  • Smell better and be more attractive?

Really wanting to quit smoking is very important to how much success you will have in quitting. Smokers who live after a heart attack are the most likely to quit for good—they're very motivated. Find a reason for quitting before you have no choice.

3. Prepare to commit! Know that it will take effort to quit smoking. Nicotine is habit forming. Half of the battle in quitting is knowing you need to quit. This knowledge will help you be more able to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal that can occur, such as bad moods and really wanting to smoke. There are many ways smokers quit, including using nicotine replacement products (gum and patches), but there is no easy way. Nearly all smokers have some feelings of nicotine withdrawal when they try to quit. Give yourself a month to get over these feelings. Take quitting one day at a time, even one minute at a time—whatever you need to succeed.

4. Half of all adult smokers have quit, so you can— too. That’s the good news. There are millions of people alive today who have learned to face life without a cigarette. For staying healthy, quitting smoking is the best step you can take.

5. Get Expert Help. I cannot stress this enough.  Many groups offer written materials, programs, and advice to help smokers quit for good. Your doctor or dentist is also a good source of help and support. Below is a list of Nationally accessible information and resources on how to quit.

By Instant Messaging & Networking

LiveHelp

  • Receive information and advice about quitting smoking through real time text messaging with a National Cancer Institute smoking cessation counselor.  Support is offered in English only during specified hours of operation.

Become an ex - A program and online community to help you help yourself quit.

By Telephone

Call from anywhere: 1-877-44U-QUIT

  • Smoking cessation counselors from the National Cancer Institute are available to answer smoking-related questions in English or Spanish, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

By Reading

What To Do When You're Sick of Smoking, Chewing, or Dipping (PDF)
Pathways to Freedom: Winning the Fight Against Tobacco (PDF)
Quit Tips: 5 Tips to Help you Quit

Help from National Organizations

National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines
1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669) / TTY 1-800-332-8615

American Cancer Society (ACS)
1-800-ACS-2345

American Lung Association
1-800-LUNG-USA

Nicotine Anonymous
1-877-879-6422

For Military Personnel

Quit Tobacco. Make Everyone Proud

  • A tobacco cessation and education resource for members of the U.S. military, sponsored by the Department of Defense.