Skip to content

Ready to Quit Smoking/Vaping

Home » Health Information » Smoking & Vaping » Ready to Quit Smoking/Vaping

A common approach to quitting smoking includes finding support, picking a date, making a plan and sticking to it! You are unique and your quit plan should be too. You can choose from a number of different methods, or you can combine methods for even greater chances of success.

Contact us at 1-800-660-5853 extension 2468 or email [email protected] to speak to trained cessation providers who can provide counseling, help develop a quit smoking/vaping plan, answer questions and provide referrals to programs and services that are right for you. Let us help you with your quit journey.

You can also refer yourself our cessation program.

Ready to learn more? Check out the tabs below:

Smokers’ Helpline

Access support online

  • Smokers’ Helpline has a new Texting Program!
  • Text iQUIT to 123456 to register.
  • Interactive support, scheduled messages, and advice to cope with cravings.

Talk Tobacco – Indigenous Quit Smoking and Vaping Support

Talk Tobacco is a free, confidential telephone service operated by the Canadian Cancer Society offering culturally appropriate support and information about quitting smoking, vaping and commercial tobacco use to Indigenous communities.

  • Call 1-833-998-8255 (TALK) 7 days a week.
  • Interpreter services are available in French, and 14 Indigenous languages.

Pregnets

  • Quit support and resources for moms and moms-to-be.

On the Road to Quitting

  • Download or order your guide to quitting for adults, or for youth.

One Day, Day 1

Nod from 2050

  • The year is 2050. You have not needed nicotine for many years now. Follow this unique online experience to send a postcard to celebrate the younger you who decided to quit vaping.

Smokefree.gov

  • Learn about different tools to help you quit and how to use them.

Don’t Quit Quitting

  • Congratulation on your decision to quit smoking…. Again

Quash

An online quit program app and website specifically for youth.

Feel better. Save money. Take back control. Quash is a made by-youth, for-youth, free quit program that works for vaping or smoking. It helps you create a plan that works for you.

#StopVaping Challenge

This is a smartphone app that challenges you to go as long as you can without vaping. Track cravings and moods, earn badges and challenge friends.

MyChangePlan App

The My Change Plan App helps you quit or reduce smoking. This app allows you to fill in a personalized quit plan which includes describing your triggers and developing coping strategies, tracking your savings and smoke free days, and forming a custom support team. You can also set up alerts to receive motivational messages and reminders. This is an easy and free way to track your progress as you quit!  

Please note: This resource includes a nutrition section that highlights weight-related statistics. At the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, we don’t endorse messages that link body weight to health. A focus on weight can lead to weight bias and poor health. Shifting our focus from weight to wellness can lead to good overall health. When it comes to quitting smoking, this means looking at the overwhelming benefits to our physical, mental and social well-being. Our goal is that people of all shapes and sizes make healthy living a part of their daily lives.

Contact your Physician

Your physician can offer advice about quitting and can provide you with information about medication that can help.

STOP with Health Care Organizations Program

The Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) with Health Care Organizations Program is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

If you are a patient at an Ontario Family Health Team (FHT), Community Health Centre (CHC), or Addictions Agency, you can enroll in the program and receive ongoing smoking cessation treatment, including Nicotine Replacement Therapy and counselling support, at no cost.

Pharmacists’ Smoking Cessation Program

If you receive your medications through the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program, check with your pharmacist to see if they are offering free quit support through this program. You may be eligible for Zyban or Champix under the ODB program.

Welcome to the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health self-help resources page; a hub for patients, families, friends and care providers looking for more information, tools and tips for smoking cessation. The information here​​ will help you:​

  • ​Understand how quitting smoking is a process and takes time, planning, and support 
  • Learn about triggers, coping skills, and other behavioural strategies
  • Address the links between smoking cigarettes and stress, alcohol use, physical inactivity, poor diet and sleep, therefore allowing for a better quit outcome and improved overall health, and
  • Engage with a variety of informative and interactive content. Check back periodically for new content! ​
  • Centre for Addictions and Mental Health self-help resources website

There are three types of medications for you to choose from:

  1. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) – Patch, Gum, Lozenges, Inhaler, Mouth spray (over the counter)
  2. Varenicline (Champix ®) – Pill (by prescription)
  3. Bupropion (Zyban®) – Pill (by prescription)

Some private insurance and benefit programs may help you with the cost of these medications.

Several types of NRT are available to help you quit. The following videos show you how to use each. The videos are produced by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Training Enhancement in Applied Cessation Counselling and Health (TEACH) project.

Withdrawal Symptoms

It is normal to experience withdrawal symptoms when quitting smoking. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, slight confusion, feeling anxious or fidgety, difficulty concentrating, or changes in your mood. The smoking cessation medications will help reduce or eliminate the withdrawal symptoms you experience while quitting.

Cravings

Cravings to smoke are also common. Their intensity usually decreases over a 2 to 3 week period. It is important to remember that cravings normally last only 3 to 5 minutes. Try to keep yourself occupied for 3 to 5 minutes, and the craving should pass. The good news is that each day without a cigarette will get easier and your cravings and withdrawal symptoms will decrease day by day.

When You Feel the Urge to Smoke, Think of the 4 Ds.

  • Delay: Cravings will usually pass within 3 to 5 minutes, so try to delay smoking
  • Drink Water: Drinking water helps to flush out the chemicals and toxins from your system
  • Distract: Occupy yourself with a task to keep your mind off smoking
  • Deep Breaths: Deep breathing will help you relax and make the cravings go away. Inhale deeply, hold for a couple of seconds, and then release slowly.

The effect of smoking on weight is complicated. When people quit smoking they may gain weight, lose
weight or stay the same weight.

The health benefits of quitting smoking far outweigh any risks connected to weight gain.  For more information click on this fact sheet from the Ontario Dietitians in Public Health.

If you slip, that’s okay! Slips happen, so expect them and plan for them in advance so you can get you back on track. Be curious, and use the experience as an opportunity to reflect about what happened and why, so you can learn from it. Remember, when you start over, this time you are stronger and wiser!

Change the Situation

  • Stop smoking immediately, leave the room, throw out your cigarettes and carry on with your quit attempt.
  • Talk Positively to Yourself: Remind yourself of how far you have come and, encourage yourself to keep at it.
  • Take Action: Find something else to do that makes it difficult to smoke, e.g. showering, engaging in physical activity, or chewing mint flavoured gum.
  • Ask for Help: Talk to someone to distract or encourage you. Don’t let a slip throw you off your quit smoking plan.

Myths and Facts about using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Products

Truth: NRT works. NRT can double your chances of quitting smoking for good.

Many people who smoke find NRT helps them in their journey to quit by reducing the roller coaster effect of stopping and starting smoking. Every person is different. It might be worth trying NRT to see if it’s right for you. Even if you tried NRT before, it might be worth trying again. NRT will help you the most if you use it as directed by your quit coach or health care provider. NRT works by replacing some of the nicotine you used to get from cigarettes, so you don’t feel as uncomfortable while you are quitting.

Truth: You may still have withdrawal symptoms or cravings while using NRT. Try to be patient. Most people find withdrawal symptoms especially difficult the first week or two after quitting. Most people who smoke find withdrawal symptoms less intense when using NRT. If withdrawal symptoms continue a few days after you start using NRT, talk to your health care provider or the Health Unit. Some NRT products (gum, lozenge and inhaler) work better if they are not used at the same time as soft drinks or fruit juices. It is safe to continue using NRT even if you slip and smoke one or two cigarettes. Staying on NRT increases your chances of getting back on track with your quit attempt.

Truth: NRT products can be used safely together. For example, you might use long-acting NRT such as the patch with short-acting NRT such as a lozenge. Some people find both a long-acting patch and short-acting gum to be useful when cravings are high to handle withdrawal symptoms and fight off cravings.

Truth: Although it may feel like NRT is expensive when compared to the long term smoking cost both to you wallet and health the cost looks a little better and here is the good news, there are Ontario programs that help with free NRT.