Tips For Quitting

What happens when you talk to a quit coach, doctor, or other healthcare professional about quitting?

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This section provides tips you can get if you want help dealing with urges and cravings. These have all been shown to help, with or without medicines.

You can try some out and use them when you quit, or learn more about them first by calling the free and confidential 1-800-QUIT-NOW quitline.

Adjust your medicine.

Make your environment work for you.

Distract yourself.

Find safe substitutes for cigarettes.

Listen to what the urge says, then talk back!

Ride the waves!

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Adjust your medicine.

If your urges are hard to resist and you are using NRT, you may be able to use more. For instance, if you are using a lower-dose patch, you can increase to a higher dose. Or you can add the nicotine mini-lozenge or gum. Learn more about combining medicines. If you are using varenicline or bupropion, you can talk to your doctor or other healthcare professional about your urges, as well as using these other tips.

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Make your environment work for you, not for smoking.

Get rid of all the cigarettes in your home, in your car, and at work before you quit.
Get rid of things that you use while smoking like lighters, matches, and ashtrays.
Wash your clothes and anything else that smells of tobacco smoke.

You might be tempted to smoke in social situations. During the first few weeks of quitting, try to avoid situations where you will be tempted to smoke and where cigarettes are available.
Tell the people you spend time with who smoke that you are quitting smoking. Ask them to support you by not smoking around you and not offering you cigarettes.
Ask the people you trust for help. A good way to resist urges and cravings is to call a friend. It also can help to go on a walk with someone, go to a movie, or just talk.
Let your doctor and other healthcare professionals such as dentists, counselors, pharmacists, and nurses know you are quitting so they can provide encouragement. They may even have additional suggestions that will help.

Going shopping can be tempting, especially at a convenience store where it’s easy to buy cigarettes. For the first month, be careful where you shop, and if you are going anywhere that sells cigarettes, resolve before you go that you will not buy any cigarettes.
If you live in a community that still allows smoking in some public places, avoid those places, especially during the first couple of months. Secondhand smoke and seeing other people smoking can trigger cravings.
Contact any tobacco companies that send you promotions or other mailings and tell them to take you off their mailing lists. If they send you texts or emails, opt out of them.

“No, I Won't Buy You Smokes”

James F.'s: “No, I Won't Buy You Smokes”

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You never know when a decision you make could undermine your efforts to quit smoking. James describes a moment he had with his roommate after he had resolved to stop smoking cigarettes. James realized the potential for relapse and took steps to make sure that it didn’t happen.

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Distract yourself.

In every moment, there is much more happening around you. Your ears are picking up sounds. Your eyes are taking in sights.

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Listen to your favorite music.
Go for a walk or do something else physical.
Call or text a friend.
Play a video game or do a puzzle.
Watch a cat video (or whatever makes you laugh).

Make a list of good ways you can distract yourself. Try them out before you quit. Save the list. Then when you quit and get an urge, you can immediately choose something from the list.

Cessation Tips Ad

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Former smokers share their tips for quitting smoking.

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Find safe substitutes for cigarettes.

Find some substitutes for cigarettes for your mouth and hands. Keep them close by when you quit. Some ideas include:

These can be helpful when it is hard to leave a situation, like when you are driving, waiting for a bus, or at a restaurant. You can hold them in your fingers and bring them to your mouth like you would a cigarette.

These can help you with nervous energy, like when you are on the phone or watching TV.

In the days before you quit, try out different substitutes instead of smoking a cigarette. See which ones work for you so you can use them when you quit.

“I Told Everyone I Stopped Smoking”

Beatrice R.: “I Told Everyone I Stopped Smoking”

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Beatrice describes things she did that helped her quit smoking. Find out how she recognized and avoided triggers.

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Listen to what the urge says, then talk back!

The trick is to be a detective and start noticing the thoughts that come up when you have an urge.
Sometimes the most interesting thought may come just before you are aware that you’re having an urge.

“Time for a cigarette.”
“If I don’t have a cigarette right now, I’m going to go crazy.”
“I need to make an excuse so I can go outside and smoke.”
“I’m under a lot of stress right now, so I deserve a cigarette.”
“This coffee will taste better with a cigarette.”
“If I don’t smoke a cigarette this urge will just get stronger and stronger, so it would be better to just smoke now.”
“It won’t hurt if I just have one.”

“I’m stressed, so I deserve a cigarette.” What could you say to that thought? Maybe you could talk back by saying:
- “Yes, I’m stressed, so I deserve a break to breathe and relax.”
- “Part of why I’m stressed is because I’m going through nicotine withdrawal. Once this urge passes, I’ll feel fine. And once I’ve quit for good, I’ll be less stressed.” By the way, this is true—once people have quit for a month or two, they feel less stress than they did before they quit.
Sometimes a thought you have might be true but not helpful for quitting. You can still talk back to it. For example, if you think, “It would be easier to just have a cigarette now,” you could admit to yourself:
- “Yes, it would be easier now, but it is very important to me to quit smoking. If I give in and have a cigarette now, it will be much harder for me to stay quit. If I wait a bit, this urge will pass.”

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You can also couple “talking backs” with using a distraction or substitute to help them pass.

It is helpful to practice listening to urges and talking back before you quit. For starters, write down two thoughts that you remember having recently when you had an urge to smoke. Now, think about each of these thoughts, and write down a “talk back” response.

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Ride the waves!

Some people find it helpful to think of urges like ocean waves. Rather than swimming to fight a wave, let the wave carry you up. Before you know it, the wave will go back down. This is the same with urges—rather than spending energy to fight them, just let them come and go, like waves.
The next time you feel an urge, don’t fight or give in, just pay attention to it. Let the urge get as strong as it wants, but don’t do anything about it. It might help to tell yourself what you are feeling: “I am having the thought that I really need a cigarette. My heart is beating a little faster. But these thoughts and feelings will be gone soon.” Talking about the experience out loud can take some of its power away.

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For most people, the urge will begin to dissolve after a few minutes. Of course, you will get more urges later, but they will weaken with time. Practice riding the wave a few times a day. Then when you quit for good, you’ll be able to ride the waves like a pro!

All of these tactics to help deal with urges have been shown to help people who smoke to quit! They work best if you practice them before quitting. For more information, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. A quit coach can help you with these and many other tips. It’s free and confidential!

Handling Setbacks

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Watch a video about what you can expect when you call the quitline.

See the answers to 10 questions people ask about quitlines.

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Learn More About Quit-Smoking Medicines