Smoking is an addiction and as such, it's not recommended that you try to quit without assistance. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states, "Tobacco addiction is a chronic disease that often requires multiple attempts to quit." The NIDA recommends a combination of counseling and medication to improve your chances of quitting smoking for good. Free smoking cessation programs are available online, via phone and in your community.
Become an EX Smoker
Become an EX Smoker, or EX, teaches you how to do the things you did while smoking, without smoking. Their three-step program reveals steps to re-learn life without cigarettes, educates you about nicotine addiction and ways to combat it, and provides guidance on recruiting your friends and family support. An online forum connects you with others trying to quit and the blog features contributions from medical experts who treat nicotine addiction.
Smokefree
A government-funded program, Smokefree.gov provides telephone assistance, called the quitline, for those wishing to kick the habit. You can talk to an expert trained in smoking cessation Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. These quitlines provide, "free support and advice from an experienced cessation counselor, a personalized quit plan and self-help materials, social support and coping strategies to help you deal with cravings, and the latest information about cessation medications." Smokefree also connects you to free resources in your community for additional support.
Quitnet
Members of Quitnet "have saved 285,080 years of life and $3,464,334,509 by quitting smoking". The free online smoking cessation program offers help and support 24/7 from its members who were previously smokers. Easy to use tools help you assess your level of addiction, readiness to quit and allows you to develop your own tailored plan to quit.
Freedom from Smoking
Sponsored by the American Lung Association, Freedom from Smoking, offers adult smokers online learning modules based on the "adaptation of the American Lung Association's gold standard, a group clinic that has helped thousands of smokers to quit for good." The basic program is free and prepares you first for quitting before setting the date to quit for good.
