SELECTED QUITTING RESOURCES
Free Live Phone Support
Whether you are ready to quit or just thinking about it, call 1-800-QUIT NOW for free support with a trained counselor. When you call, a friendly staff person will offer a choice of free services, including mailed self-help literature, a referral list of other programs in your community, and one-one-counseling over the phone.
Another quit line is the the National Cancer Institute’s Smoking Quitline, 1-877-44U-Quit, which also offers proactive counseling by trained personnel.
BecomeAnEX.org
One of the most effective and best researched programs we’ve found is www.BecomeAnEx.org, a free resource for tobacco users who want to quit. Here smokers can create free, personalized quit plans while tracking the “triggers” that lead them to light up (i.e., stress, alcohol, parties, or a “jerk-face” boss). And when those cravings start to mount, a live virtual support group will be there to help. This extraordinary, brilliant program was developed using the latest research by the American Legacy foundation, the foundation created with $2 billion of the $240 billion settlement of the lawsuits by the States against Big Tobacco. Add the Become An Ex program to your arsenal in your battle against tobacco.
12 Reasons to Quit
This December, 2008 US News and World Report article begins, “Never mind cancer or heart disease for a moment. Here are some nonobvious reasons to snub cigarettes.”
Boilerplate Points
It’s not enough simply to use a product. Counseling, and as well as utilizing the classic, boilerplate points for quitting, are critical to succeeding. Our Quitting Tips page includes a useful guide to these critically important boilerplate points. These will empower you with valuable techniques, and will also strengthen your motivation and resolve.
| One excellent WebMD page covers the a new anti-depressant smoking cessaton pill, and lists the pros and cons of this prescription medication. |
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The American Lung Association’s
Freedom From Sm
This popular smoking cessation program is now available free. Quitting smoking can evoke a lot of feelings: fear, resentment, relief, and so on. If you stay committed to this online program, and complete all of the assignments, you have a good chance of remaining smoke-free for good. Millions of people have quit smoking and you can too!
| This CDC webpage is also quite useful. IT offers links to what happens within 20 minutes after smokers inhale their last cigarette, and other useful support tools for quitting successfully. |
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In-patient programs
I come from a wealthy background, and at one point it occurred to me that wealthy folks may have a harder time quitting smoking, alcohol, or dieting. Why? Because they’re used to
getting whatever they want, whenever they want it. Those who are not wealthy have much stronger “self-denial muscles.”
If you count yourself among the affluent, you might wish to consider an inpatient treatment center. You’d reside in a hospital for up to a week with a group of other people who are also quitting.
Presently, two excellent inpatient programs are offered, at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (they have a second location as well), and St. Helena Hospital in California’s Napa Valley. At the St. Helena they offer a 5 day or 10 day inpatient program. You may call them at 866.359.3296.
How are your self-denial muscles? Pretty good, no doubt! Let’s see: are you able to easily put off getting a brand new car, or going to a $60 per head restaurant? How about postponing that vacation in Monte Carlo, Aspen, or Florida? Good! If you can do those things, chances are good you won’t need an inpatient program, and you’ll have all the self-denial muscles you’ll need to quit smoking. But you’ll need to flex them. And yes, it might hurt a bit.
At www.quitnet.org you can go to a chat room where those quitting are doing it together, not alone. It can be a great source of support — like a Nicotine Anonymous meeting, but online.
This site was put together by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program.
Unlike a chat room, at Nicotine Anonymous meetings, you’ll find warm bodies, which can be more comforting than a computer screen. If this appeals to you more, pick up your telephone and ask directory assistance for the phone number of your local Nicotine Anonymous chapter. These are based on the classic 12-steps, borrowed from AA. The meetings are free and run entirely by volunteers. If there are no meetings in your city, try calling (800) 642-0666, call a nearby city’s directory assistance, or check the website. There you can also find out how to start your own Nicotine Anonymous meeting. That’s how it spread all over the U.S.
Also check out these cool youth-oriented QUITTING sites
Follow the stories of four young people as they try to kick their habit in “Quit 4 Life,” a unique interactive site that offers important advice for those trying to quit smoking. This is a very cool site, in the extreme.
The opening animated page says it all — YOU are a target. But your mind is a weapon. “Question It” provides tips to help smokers win their personal battle against tobacco. Their Kickin’ Tips are truly excellent.
The Nicotine Junkies investigate the effects of nicotine on the body while offering tips on how to win the war against tobacco.
800 – QUIT NOW
A great – and fun – new website and phone line to help you out, if you’re ready to quit smoking or even just thinking about it. There’s lots of free stuff, and there are animations at the site — but they can only send you the free stuff and accept 800-number calls if you live in California, because of limitations on their grant funding. But even if you’re not from California, this website – www.nobutts.ucsd.edu – is still a lot of fun.
QUIT COMMUNITIES AND CHAT
At this huge and well known site from Boston University, anytime you visit you will find ten to thirty people who are chatting live. It’s also an excellent and supportive quit program, with thousands of graduates who have quit successfully. Visit this community of caring and supportive people, all in various stages of quitting. Post a message, chat, and read what others are going through. This is a real grassroots site.
