Quitting

Why Quit

It's Your Time

It’s never too late to quit tobacco. Just 12 hours after you quit smoking, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. And after one year, your risk of coronary heart disease is half what it was when you were smoking.

Why quit now?

  • Improve your health: Half of all smokers who continue to smoke will eventually die from smoking-related illness.
  • Extend your life: The CDC estimates that adult male smokers lose an average of 13.2 years of life and adult female smokers lose 14.5 years of life because of smoking.
  • Protect the health of those around you: Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals (about 70 of which can cause cancer).
  • Save time and money: calculate the number of cigarettes you’ve smoked, and how much they’ve cost you.

Tips to quit

  • Set a quit date.
  • Tell family and friends about your quit plan.
  • Anticipate and plan for challenges while quitting. How will you handle triggers and cravings?
  • Remove tobacco from your home, car, work, and anywhere else you keep your tobacco.
  • Talk to your doctor about other quit options.

* Information here was gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Way to Quit and the Utah Department of Health

Resources

Utah Tobacco Quit Line
1-800-QUIT-NOW

Spanish: 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569)
TTY: 1-877-777-6534
waytoquit.org

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Free and confidential quit coaching in more than 100 different languages.

What happens when I call the Quit Line?

  • Talk to a trained quit-coach who will help you develop a personalized quit plan
  • Receive up to five individually tailored sessions with a quit-coach
  • Receive information about how to help a family member or friend quit tobacco
  • Discuss options for medications, including free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for those who qualify (youth are not eligible for NRT)

Smokefree TXT

Text “QUIT” to 47848 for daily quit tips. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Other Resources

Visit smokefree.gov or call 1-800-44U-QUIT for additional quitting resources.

Visit cdc.gov for additional information on how to quit smoking.

Youth

There are many resources available to help youth end their dependence on nicotine, including:

Pregnant Women

Quitting smoking when you’re pregnant is one of the best things you can do for you and your baby.

According to the CDC, smoking while pregnant can:

  • Increase the risk of health problems for developing babies, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and birth defects of the mouth and lip.
  • Cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This is also a risk for babies that are exposed to secondhand smoke after they are born.
  • Increase your chance of having a miscarriage.
  • Cause complications or damage to the developing baby's brain and lungs.
  • Cause complications with the placenta, which is where the baby gets food and oxygen during pregnancy. Smoking can cause the placenta to separate from the womb too early, which is dangerous for both mom and baby.

It’s never too late to quit tobacco during pregnancy! Here are some benefits to quitting during pregnancy:

  • Your baby will get more oxygen after just one day of you not smoking.
  • Less risk of premature birth
  • Better chance that baby will not have to stay in the hospital longer than usual
  • You will be less likely to develop smoking-related diseases
  • You will be able to breathe easier and will have more energy

Pregnant women are eligible for all the same resources as other adults, plus additional quit coaching sessions from the Utah Tobacco Quit Line.

To get help quitting, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit waytoquit.org

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Other Resources

Health Care Providers
  • Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death
  • Tobacco users expect to be encouraged to quit by their healthcare provider
  • Healthcare providers can double the chances of successful quitting by advising their patients to quit using tobacco.
  • Quitting tobacco takes multiple attempts. Patients who understand this may be more likely to make attempts to quit.

Quit Resources

The Utah Tobacco Quit Line is a free service for both adults and youth in either English or Spanish.

Refer a patient to the Quit Line

The Quit Line will attempt to contact the patient multiple times. The quit line will also fax your office to inform you of the services that the patient received.

We recommend you note the Quit Line referral in the patient’s medical file to facilitate a follow-up during his or her next office visit.

The Way to Quit has information on Tobacco Education and other resources for Health Care Providers to inform their patients.


Go back to main Tobacco Prevention & Control page