Although quitting smoking isn't easy, you'll find plenty of information and resources online to help you. If you're seeking facts about medications, crave the company of a support group or want professional advice from a smoking-cessation counselor, several websites are available to meet your needs. Many of these websites are free, but paid sites offer extras such as tools and chat rooms.
Types of Help Available Online
Most of websites dedicated to stopping smoking feature a mixture of informational articles and tools. The tools will help you calculate the amount of money you'll save and the amount of time you'll add to your life by quitting. While the paid sites offer forums, chat rooms and personal profiles, the free sites are heavier on informational articles, with fewer interactive tools and no community features.
Using Free Websites
If you're still in the thinking-about-it stage and just looking for information about how to quit smoking, the free sites offer plenty of articles on the subject. The American Cancer Society's "Stay Away From Tobacco" page offers information about the link between smoking and cancer, a guide to help you quit and a list of do's and don'ts. Smokefree.gov links you to national, state and local quitlines, offers live help using instant messaging and asks pertinent questions about your reasons for wanting to quit WhyQuit.com features a wealth of articles detailing individual battles with heart disease, lung cancer and other diseases. The site also offers journals, quit meters and other tools.
Using Paid Websites
If you're looking for more help than you can get through reading articles or talking to someone on a quitline, consider joining a paid-membership site. QuitNet features forums, chat rooms, a buddy system and a range of tools to help you track your progress. Membership also includes a "personal quit page" and a greeting-card feature.
Using Quit Smoking Products and Their Websites
Some websites selling products to help you quit smoking also offer informational and motivational articles. QuitSmoking.com sells products such as artificial cigarettes, herbal patches and hypnosis CDs, with a link to a separate page listing articles such as "20 Quick Tips to Help You Quit Smoking." The makers of Chantix provide information about the drug itself, along with articles offering advice on quitting and free quit-smoking workshops that are held in locations throughout the United States.
Using Web Seminars and Lessons
Web seminars are a convenient way to receive information and motivation for your quit-smoking attempt. Some seminars combine an online seminar with a live event, while others offer the online version only. Most of these programs offer books, CDs or videos to accompany the information presented in the seminar. Freedom From Smoking is an online lesson-based program adapted from a group clinic run by the American Lung Association.
