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How to Quit Tobacco

Common Challenges

Quitting tobacco can be challenging, even if you're well prepared. If you are unprepared, it may feel impossible. One way to prepare is to understand how tobacco fits into your life and figure out what, specifically, is going to be hard about giving it up. Knowing what to watch out for when you quit will help you make a plan to overcome those challenges as they come up along the way.

Overcoming nicotine dependence   

Cigarettes and chewing tobacco are both designed to quickly and effectively deliver nicotine. Nicotine is very addictive. Your body may develop a dependence quickly (sometimes after using it only a few times), and it often takes some time before your body adjusts to living without it. 

When you stop using tobacco, you may experience symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Often this can feel like irritability, lack of focus, or trouble sleeping. Every person experiences withdrawal differently, but the first week is usually the most intense. The good news is that these symptoms do get better over time; usually over several weeks. It can help to think of this time as a transition period during which your body and your emotions return to normal.

If you think the withdrawal symptoms will be challenging, there are many medications available to help minimize them.

Finding a new normal  

It's common to find that tobacco plays more than one role in your life. Perhaps it is a way to cope with stress or a way to keep your weight down. It's also likely that tobacco has become a part of your daily routine. Maybe you always have cigarettes with your coffee or when you go out with friends. Finally, tobacco may occupy an emotional place in your life – it's there for you when you are lonely, angry, or bored.

If this is true for you, quitting will be not only about nicotine addiction but also about finding a way to reduce stress, maintain your weight, build new routines, and find emotional support without tobacco.

Thinking about past quit attempts   

It's a fact that may be both encouraging and discouraging, but many people try to quit several times before they're successful. The important thing is to keep past attempts in perspective. Just because you've tried to quit in the past doesn't mean that you don't have the willpower to quit or that you won't be successful in the future. Most people who have successfully quit smoking had to try multiple times before they stopped for good.

Past quit attempts are an opportunity to consider what worked well and what didn't. If you made it a few hours, a few days, or even a few weeks without a cigarette, you were successful in breaking the habit. Ask yourself what strategies worked for you in the past – even for a short time – and what might be useful now. This will help your next quit attempt be more effective than the last.

Choose the Next Steps You're Ready for

Not everyone feels the same way when they think about quitting tobacco. Your readiness to quit and your confidence level that you'll be successful are unique to you. Your next steps may be different depending on how ready you feel. You might take some time to think more about what you like or dislike about tobacco. You may want to observe and try to understand how you use tobacco. You might consider making small changes to make smoking less convenient and attractive. Or you might find yourself ready to put together a plan to quit and take action.

If you're not ready 

You may not feel ready right now. There may be other things going on in your life that take your focus away from quitting, or it may feel like this isn't the best time right now. It's OK to think more about tobacco and its place in your life, even if you're not ready to quit right now. One helpful way to think more about it is to:

• Make a list of tobacco pros and cons: all the things that you like about smoking and all the reasons you think you might be ready to make a change in the future.
  
• Ask yourself what would need to be different for you to consider making that change.

If you're in the middle of the road 

People often have mixed feelings when they think about quitting tobacco. On the one hand, there may be reasons to make a change. On the other hand, there may be reasons to keep things as they are. Ask yourself:

• What are my reasons to continue smoking?
  
• What are some reasons to consider quitting?

Think more about it. And while you think about these alternatives, become more aware of the way you smoke. It's helpful to keep a "pack track" or log for a day or two. This helps you know more about when you smoke, how you feel, who you're with, and how much you needed the cigarette.

When you look back on your records, see if any patterns jump out at you. It may be that you really rely on tobacco to get you through stressful situations, or that certain triggers (drinking coffee, driving, etc.) always cause you to smoke. Examining your own habits can be an important step to identifying how tobacco fits in your life right now.

Understanding the role tobacco plays in your daily life can help you begin to think about other ways to meet those needs without smoking. If and when you feel ready to quit, those ideas can become part of your quit strategy.

If you're feeling ready 

Even if you feel you're ready to quit right now, it's important not to move so fast that you don't have time to plan. Being very clear about your own personal motivations for quitting can provide you with the strength to follow through if the going gets rough.

Ask yourself what your main reasons are for quitting, make a list of those reasons that are most important to you, and keep the list in your wallet. Then:

• Consider the challenges you might experience when quitting. Make a list of possible challenges and brainstorm ways to overcome them.
  
• Find out about classes or resources in your area.
  
• Talk about quitting with someone who can support you.
  
• Consider your options for quit tobacco medications and start the process of getting any needed prescriptions.
  
• Create a quit plan, including ways to get ready to quit and strategies for overcoming your challenges once you do quit.
  

Strategies We Recommend

There are many ways to quit tobacco. The key to your success will be to choose the strategies that will work best for you.

When putting together a plan, think about your motivations for quitting, anticipate what may be challenging, and plan some strategies to get through those times. You may also want to consider medications and ways in which you will get support.

Make sure you're ready 

Feeling ready to make a big change like quitting tobacco is a key to your success. Readiness can mean slightly different things for different people, but it's often a combination of things, including the following:

• You feel motivated to quit. The pros of quitting outweigh the cons, and you have powerful reasons why this change is important to you.
  
• You feel confident that you can make this change successfully. This doesn't mean that you believe it will be easy, but you feel that you can successfully navigate barriers that might get in the way.

If you are thinking about quitting but don't feel as ready or confident as you'd like, there are still things you can do to increase your confidence and readiness. You could:

• Think about your personal reasons for quitting.
  
• Take some small steps to make tobacco a less automatic part of your life, like switching brands or buying by the pack not the carton.
  
• Choose times during the day to practice being tobacco-free.

As you feel more in control, you may feel more ready and more confident.

Plan, plan, plan 

Think about going on an international trip – the planning and preparation you do before you leave can make all the difference in how ready you are for the trip and how confident you are that it will be a success. Quitting tobacco can be the same way. The planning you do beforehand can be an important indicator of your success. We can help you with this, or you can get help from your family, friends, or others in your community.

Use quit tobacco medications 

Quit tobacco medications are drugs that help people quit tobacco. They can ease the cravings and other symptoms you might feel as your body withdraws from nicotine. This allows you to focus on your other strategies for living life without tobacco. Using medications as part of your quit plan has been proven to increase your chances of quitting successfully.

Find support 

Support and reinforcement before, during, and after you quit are an important part of a comprehensive quit plan. In fact, studies show that the amount of support you get can be one of the things that determine whether you'll be successful.

This may mean finding someone to talk to as you enter a new smoke-free lifestyle. It could also mean finding new ways to socialize and – at least for a time – avoiding situations that would tempt you to start using tobacco again. And if someone in your family or social circle uses tobacco, it may be especially important to ask for their support while you quit.

Kaiser Permanente Resources to Help You Quit Tobacco

We know quitting tobacco can be difficult to do. Kaiser Permanente offers many proven quit tobacco services so you can choose the type of program that best fits your needs.

What works best? That depends on you and your learning preferences. We recommend a combination of a comprehensive quit plan, quit tobacco medications, and counseling support. Our Kaiser Permanente quit tobacco programs are proven to increase your chances of quitting successfully. We strongly recommend that you consider the support we offer and choose the program that will work best for you.

If you use quit tobacco medications or participate in our Kaiser Permanente quit tobacco programs, evidence shows that you will be more likely to quit successfully. However, combining the two can be the most effective strategy and can double your chances of success.

The following tools and programs can help you develop an effective plan to quit tobacco. They are all available at no extra cost to Kaiser Permanente members. You can try out one or all of these resources depending on your own needs and preferences. Contact your local Health Education Center for more information.

• Wellness Coaching. Whether you’re trying to get more active, eat better, manage your weight, quit tobacco, or handle stress, your personal coach can help you create—and stick with—a plan for reaching your goals. Call the Appointment and Advice Call Center to schedule your initial phone appointment.
• Multisession Freedom from Tobacco Program. Declare your freedom and join our tobacco cessation program. Learn about the nature of nicotine addiction, how to develop a personal quit plan that includes effective strategies and medications, and how to deal with withdrawal. This program is highly effective and provides guidance from a seasoned instructor as well as the support of peer participants.
• Quit Tobacco Workshop. This one-session workshop is designed to help you develop your own quit plan. In a positive, no-pressure environment, learn about the nature of addiction, cessation strategies and medications, and ways to prevent relapse. If you need some brief tips or the chance to brush up on the components of an effective plan, this workshop is for you.
• Breathe ™ Explore your own motivations for quitting and make a personalized quit plan with this award-winning online tool (see related health tools at right). From the convenience of your own computer you can explore your motivations for quitting as well as your challenges. Breathe can help you identify a plan and provide follow-up support by email once you are done.
• Individual Counseling Sessions include 4 one-on-one sessions with a Clinical Health Educator who will assist you in developing a quit plan, learning about medications, the quit process and staying quit. Contact your local Health education department to find out if this service is available at your medical center.
• California Smokers’ Helpline provides free counseling and support to develop a plan that works for you. Call 1-800 NO BUTTS from the comfort and privacy of your own home. The Helpline is run by the University of California, San Diego and offers services in multiple languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese. They also provide a specialized service for pregnant women, teens, and those who use chew tobacco.

All of our quit tobacco programs are available at no extra cost to members. Drug coverage varies. Please check with Member Services if you have questions about what is covered under your plan.

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This information is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of specific medical advice or care you receive from your physician or other health care professional. If you have persistent health problems, or if you have additional questions, please consult with your doctor. If you have questions or need more information about your medication, please speak to your pharmacist. Kaiser Permanente does not endorse the medications or products mentioned. Any trade names listed are for easy identification only.