Quit Smoking
If you’re thinking about quitting smoking or using tobacco (or are trying to convince someone else to quit), then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve found the best Web sites to help you understand why you should quit smoking, determine the best way to do it, and find support to help you along the way and keep you from restarting.
Expand All Guide SectionsReasons to Quit Smoking
It’s no secret that smoking is bad for you. The list of organs it can damage is long, and there are many diseases linked to smoking, such as emphysema, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Use this section to learn more about the health effects of smoking and reasons to quit smoking.
Insights for Reasons to Quit Smoking
- The financial costs of smoking include more than the purchase price of cigarettes. Tobacco use can increase your health insurance rates by nearly a third, according to the IBD Insurance Services Health Blog. The InsWeb Insurance Blog explains that smokers also pay more for life insurance.
- The sites we’ve chosen for this section do a great job of explaining how nicotine works in the body and why quitting smoking is so hard to do. They also prepare you for the physical withdrawal (which lasts only a few days) and the psychological addiction, which can be much harder to break.
Top Sites for Reasons to Quit Smoking
For an overview on smoking cessation …
American Cancer Society's
“Guide to Quitting Smoking” explains why it’s so hard. This lengthy guide covers the effects of smoking on the body and lists social and economic reasons to quit. It describes what happens to your body when you stop smoking, and the immediate rewards of quitting. This guide also tells you what to look for in smoking cessation programs.
For reasons to quit smoking …
Quitline Iowa
published “Common Myths sbout Quitting Smoking,” available in a PDF document. The article encourages people to stop, with reasons such as “Quitting is expensive.”
WhyQuit.com
is a site run by a tobacco-cessation educator. If you have the stomach for it, check out the gallery of people who have died from or are currently fighting tobacco-related illnesses, including those caused by smokeless tobacco. Then scroll down to view pictures of diseased lungs and people in the hospital.
American Cancer Society
has a page for those who want to stop using smokeless tobacco (also known as chewing tobacco). Although it’s not as lethal as cigarettes, smokeless tobacco still poses serious health risks, including oral and tongue cancer.
Smoking Cessation
is a nonprofit site devoted to helping people quit. What sets this page apart is a calculator that helps you figure out how much you’re spending each week, month or year on cigarettes. Scroll down the left side of the homepage to find it.
For young smokers …
American Academy of Family Physicians
has a smoking cessation section for younger people, including a step-by-step guide to quitting just for teens, and a page with information to help kids convince their friends to stop smoking.
Ways to Quit Smoking
You can quit smoking on your own or with the help of medication, counseling, patches, gums, nasal ... read more »
Support for Quitting Smoking
Even with the tremendous resources available to quit smoking, it remains extremely difficult. ... read more »
Helping Someone Quit Smoking
It can be hard to stand by and watch people you care about smoke, knowing the affect it’s ... read more »
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