Quitting Tips & Tools
Why have millions of people quit using tobacco? Because they know it’s one of the best things they can do to have a healthier life. Tobacco is the number one preventable cause of death around the world. It’s tough to quit tobacco. Only a fraction of smokers achieve success in their initial quit attempt.
Tobacco dependence is a chronic disease where quitters face periods of relapse and remission. If you’re trying to quit, you don’t have to embark on the journey alone. There are free tools and tips that can increase your chances of quitting and staying quit.
Georgia Tobacco Quitline:
The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line provides free counseling, a resource library, support and referral services for tobacco users. It is available for all Georgia residents age 18 or older and concerned parents of adolescents using tobacco. The Tobacco Quit Line is funded by the master tobacco settlement through the state’s Tobacco Use Prevention Section in partnership with the Georgia Cancer Coalition. It has no commercial bias and no products to promote. As a caller, you will receive free, professional support that’s tailored to your needs.
A counselor conducts an initial interview with a caller to determine tobacco usage and willingness to quit. An assessment is made based on the caller’s needs and multiple options are presented. Callers will receive a customized quit plan, including up to five additional counseling phone calls. Up-to-date information about physician-recommended pharmacological support, such as nicotine gum, nicotine patches, and other items are available. A Tobacco Quit Kit, including materials tailored to the caller’s readiness to quit will be provided.
Updates are coming soon to include a texting cessation program!
The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week
- 1-877-270-7867 (English)
- 1-877-266-3863 (Spanish)
- 1-877-777-6534 (Hearing Impaired)
The Truth Initiative’s This is Quitting:
This is Quitting is a free and anonymous text messaging program from The Truth Initiative designed to help young people quit vaping. The first-of-its-kind quit program incorporates messages from other young people like them who have attempted to, or successfully quit vaping. Messages show the real side of quitting, both the good and the bad, to help young people feel motivated, inspired, and supported throughout their quitting process. They also send young people evidence-based tips and strategies to quit and stay quit. This is Quitting is tailored based on age (within 13 to 24 years old) and product usage to give teens and young adults appropriate recommendations about quitting. Watch the following video from Truth Initiative https://youtu.be/JwUsRFROoik to learn more about This is Quitting.
To enroll in This is Quitting, teens and young adults can text DITCHVAPE to 88709. The first messages they receive will ask for their age and product usage so that they are able to receive relevant messages. Users receive one age-appropriate message per day tailored to their enrollment date or quit date, which can be set and reset via text message.
Those who are not ready to quit receive at least four weeks of messages focused on building skills and confidence. Users with a quit date receive one week of messages prior to that date and at least eight weeks of messages after their quit date. Throughout the program, users can text COPE, STRESS, SLIP or MORE to receive instant support. Upon completion of the program, users receive periodic text messages from truth® and may continue to use supportive keywords for as long as they like.
National Cancer Institute’s quitSTART app:
The quitSTART app is a free smartphone app that helps you quit smoking with tailored tips, inspiration, and challenges. It is a product of Smokefree.gov, a smoking cessation resource created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and input from tobacco control professionals, smoking cessation experts, and ex-smokers.
The quitSTART app helps you:
- Create your own Quit Kit with customized tips and materials. The more information you add about your smoking habits, the better the app can personalize content to fit your needs.
- Check your progress and earn badges for smoke-free milestones and other achievements.
- Get back on track if you have a slip and smoke.
- Mark times or places that make you want to smoke so you get encouragement when you need it most.
- Manage cravings and bad moods in healthy ways.
- Distract yourself from cravings with games and challenges.
- Store tips, inspirations, and challenges in your Quit Kit to look back on later.
- Share your progress and favorite tips through social media.
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