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Improve your health by quitting smoking or vaping

You're never too young or too old to stop smoking or vaping. If you've tried before without success, you're not alone. Nicotine, the drug in regular and e-cigarettes, is highly addictive. Nicotine affects your behavior, memory, and emotions. It's also known to cause cancer, heart disease, and lung problems.1,2


Give yourself a better chance of quitting smoking

When you decide it's time to quit, here are a few ideas to help you reach your goal.


Be ready for the cravings

Cravings start when your body wants nicotine. Typically, they pass after 5 or 10 minutes. The tips below can help you handle the cravings and stay on the path to success.3

  • Get moving. Take a brisk 10-minute walk, jog in place, or do other physical activity like push-ups.
  • Spend time in places where you can't smoke or vape. Go to the movies, walk the mall, explore a museum.
  • Change your routine. If you typically smoke or vape after a meal, go for a walk, try deep-breathing exercises, or brush your teeth. By changing your habits, you're less likely to feel something is missing.
  • Give yourself a “wait” time. If you feel like you are about to give in, wait at least 10 minutes. This is often enough time to move past the craving.
  • Don't let yourself cheat. Remember, there is no such thing as just one cigarette or puff.
  • Reward yourself for doing your best. Save the money you would have spent on cigarettes or vaping cartridges for a daily treat or a major purchase.

Find the right support

Having a support network that includes family, friends, and healthcare professionals will help you achieve your goal. In fact, the combination of counseling and medication can double your chances of success.4

Counseling: Nicotine Anonymous offers support by phone or text, online, and in person. Smokefree.gov provides quit plans, free apps, and support through text messaging or live chat.

Medication: Nicotine replacement therapy gives you nicotine through gums, patches, sprays, lozenges, or inhalers, without the other chemicals in cigarettes and vaping cartridges. This can help break the habit of smoking before going through physical withdrawal.


Focus on the benefits

By quitting smoking, you're improving your health and quality of life.5 The benefits include:

  • 1 week: Blood pressure drops, carbon monoxide level in your blood returns to normal, and most nicotine has left your body.
  • 1 year: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease, and your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves and better fight infection.
  • 5 to 10 years: The risk of heart disease and cancer of the mouth, throat, and voice box drop by half.
  • After 10 years: Lung cancer risk drops by half, and the risk of cancer of the bladder, cervix, kidneys, and pancreas goes down.
  • 15 years: Your risk of heart disease is no greater than that of people who never smoked or vaped.

    Sources:

    1 American Lung Association: What's In a Cigarette? and What's In an E-Cigarette? (accessed September 2023): lung.org.

    2 American Heart Association: How Smoking and Nicotine Damage Your Body (accessed September 2023): heart.org.

    3 American Cancer Society: Help for Cravings and Tough Situations While You're Quitting Tobacco (accessed September 2023): cancer.org.

    4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Clinical Interventions to Treat Tobacco Use and Dependence Among Adults (accessed September 2023): cdc.gov.

    5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Smoking & Tobacco Use: Benefits of Quitting (accessed September 2023): cdc.gov.