Tips For Quitting | Quit Smoking | Tips From Former Smokers | CDC Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People Submit For a full list of topics: A-Z Index Advanced Advanced Tips From Former Smokers ® Tips For Quitting Español (Spanish) Minus Related Pages What happens when you talk to a quit coach, doctor, or other healthcare professional about quitting? This section provides tips you can get if you want help dealing with urges and cravings. These have all been shown to help, with or without medicines. You can try some out and use them when you quit, or learn more about them first by calling the free and confidential 1-800-QUIT-NOW quitline or by visiting the Quit Guide. medical icon Adjust your medicine. smoking ban solid icon Make your environment work for you. cat icon Distract yourself. food icon Find safe substitutes for cigarettes. ear solid icon Listen to what the urge says, then talk back! weather icon Ride the waves! Top of Page Adjust your medicine. If your urges are hard to resist and you are using NRT, you may be able to use more. For instance, if you are using a lower-dose patch, you can increase to a higher dose. Or you can add the nicotine mini-lozenge or gum. Learn more about combining medicines. If you are using varenicline or bupropion, you can talk to your doctor or other healthcare professional about your urges, as well as using these other tips. Top of Page Make your environment work for you, not for smoking. You can change some things about your home, car, and work that will make it easier to quit and stay quit. Get rid of all the cigarettes in your home, in your car, and at work before you quit. Get rid of things that you use while smoking like lighters, matches, and ashtrays. Wash your clothes and anything else that smells of tobacco smoke. Tell people you're quitting so they can support you. You might be tempted to smoke in social situations. During the first few weeks of quitting, try to avoid situations where you will be tempted to smoke and where cigarettes are available. Tell the people you spend time with who smoke that you are quitting smoking. Ask them to support you by not smoking around you and not offering you cigarettes. Ask the people you trust for help. A good way to resist urges and cravings is to call a friend. It also can help to go on a walk with someone, go to a movie, or just talk. Let your doctor and other healthcare professionals such as dentists, counselors, pharmacists, and nurses know you are quitting so they can provide encouragement. They may even have additional suggestions that will help. Watch out for other temptations. Going shopping can be tempting, especially at a convenience store where it's easy to buy cigarettes. For the first month, be careful where you shop, and if you are going anywhere that sells cigarettes, resolve before you go that you will not buy any cigarettes. If you live in a community that still allows smoking in some public places, avoid those places, especially during the first couple of months. Secondhand smoke and seeing other people smoking can trigger cravings. Contact any tobacco companies that send you promotions or other mailings and tell them to take you off their mailing lists. If they send you texts or emails, opt out of them. "No, I Won't Buy You Smokes"