patient resources

Smoking Cessation

Making Your Decision to Quit

  • Knowing the potential effects of smoking can make it easier to make the decision to quit.

  • Having these reasons to refer back to throughout the process can help you stick with your decision.

  • Understand that quitting is difficult and might take more than one try to quit but do not get discouraged.


Preparing to Quit

  • Follow the START guide for quitting

    • Set a quit date: having a goal will make it more achievable and will help to you follow through

    • Tell family, friends, and co-workers: sharing your goals will allow others to support you and your plans to quit

    • Anticipate challenges: this will allow you to overcome challenges if you have already thought through a possible solution

    • Remove cigarettes and tobacco products to reduce temptation

      • Talk to your doctor about other resources available to help you


Methods of Quitting

  • This is beneficial because it immediately decreases risk associated with smoking but can cause strong side effects that may cause relapse

  • Gradually decreasing the amount of cigarettes you smoke each day is another helpful method that has less side effects and may be easier but giving up the last one or two may be difficult

  • You should talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of this method

  • Therapy can help reduce the need for unhealthy stress relief habits

  • Some of the methods include nicotine patches or gum or other sources or nicotine that can be obtained through a prescription

  • Combination therapy uses two forms of nicotine replacement


Throughout the Process

  • Schedule regular visits with your doctor to discuss challenges throughout the process

  • Ask family and friends for their support


Additional Resources

Provides smoking cessation support, education, and information on available resources.
1 (800) QUIT-NOW (1-800-784- 8669)

http://women.smokefree.gov/
Provides resources specifically for women wishing to quit smoking.

https://smokefree.gov/
General information on quitting smoking.

https://smokefree.gov/apps-quitstart
Information on an app that can aid in quitting

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