Living Tobacco Free: How to Quit Smoking, Vaping, or Chewing Tobacco | SBM

Written By: Julie Martin, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Public Health, LSU Health-New Orleans; Michael Celestin, PhD, CTTS – Assistant Professor & Director of the Louisiana Tobacco Control Initiative, School of Public Health, LSU Health-New Orleans

---

May 31 is the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day, a day to raise awareness of the tobacco epidemic and promote quitting smoking. While cigarette smoking has declined, tobacco use in general continues to be a leading cause of disease and death. Many users find it hard to quit and don’t know where to start. Whether you smoke cigarettes, vape e-cigarettes, or use other types of nicotine products, resources are available to help you quit. Below are a few strategies to start a quit plan.

Talk to a Healthcare Professional About Quitting Tobacco

A great first step is to tell your doctor or nurse that you’re ready to quit. They will discuss different treatment options such as counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and prescription medication. Select the best treatment option(s) for you and they will help keep track of your progress and adjust your quit plan if needed.

If you don’t have a primary care physician or have trouble accessing healthcare services, you can call the a free Quitline or text messaging program for support. These services connect you with a professional counselor who will provide personal support and advice for your quit journey. Many state Quitlines also offer free medications for people who can’t afford them.

Set A Quit Date

Setting a quit date is a great next step for quitting tobacco use. On that day you will choose to stop smoking, vaping, or using other tobacco products.

To stay motivated, experts recommend choosing a quit date no more than two weeks away. It can also be helpful to choose a quit date for a celebratory event, like a birthday or anniversary, or during a time when you can avoid stressful events, such as a large deadline at work or moving.

Leading up to your quit date, prepare for it by slowly decreasing your tobacco use. Doing this also helps identify what triggers your smoking habit. Stress and boredom are common triggers – but pay attention to which situations affect you most.

As you decrease your tobacco intake, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms. These can be addressed with medication and counseling. To manage cravings during your quit journey, do activities such as going for a walk or chewing gum when cravings arise, which can help to reduce momentary triggers to smoke.

Seek Support from Family & Friends

Making a large change in your life, such as quitting nicotine and tobacco use, requires support to handle the physical, mental, and environmental challenges you’ll face. Research has shown that social support increases tobacco cessation success and maintenance of a tobacco-free lifestyle.

After talking to your healthcare professional and setting a quit date, the next step is telling family and friends when and how you plan to quit. This lets them know you need their support during this time. You should explain to them how you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety or restlessness. They can support you by distracting you from tobacco cravings, reminding you of your goal, and motivating you to stay with it.

If you have family or friends who also use tobacco products, be firm on setting smoking limits around you and designate areas like inside the home or car as smoke-free. To help avoid triggers and relapsing, ask family and friends not to buy or use nicotine products around you. Setting these limits not only helps you and others to be healthier but they can also help you to avoid smoking out of habit, such as when drinking alcohol or riding in a car. They may even try to quit with you!

Track Your Progress

While quitting tobacco use is the first step, maintaining a tobacco-free lifestyle also requires ongoing work. For some, it can be hard to understand the immediate benefits of quitting and remain motivated to quit. To help with this, you can download a smartphone app to track your tobacco free journey. Many smartphone apps are free and a convenient way to monitor your health and financial progress, receive support and advice, and earn rewards for staying tobacco free.

If social media is for you, there’s also opportunities to join online communities with other people on the same journey. Sites like Facebook, Reddit, and Discord allow users to post anonymously and share successes or challenges they may be facing in their quit journey. Along the way, these groups can also help you to receive encouragement and advice from people who are going through the same thing.

Quitting tobacco isn’t easy but with support from others and using the right resources to help you quit, no matter what type of tobacco products you’re using, you can do it. By talking to someone about your goals and setting a quit date, you can chart your path towards living tobacco free.

For free help quitting tobacco product use, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or text QUITNOW to 333888

---

More Articles

« Back to Healthy Living