Get the most out of Ready2Quit by registering at UCanQuit2.org/Ready2Quit from your computer, smartphone or tablet. Classroom Presentation

Get the most out of Ready2Quit by registering at UCanQuit2.org/Ready2Quit from your computer, smartphone or tablet.

Classroom Presentation


Take the Quiz

Fagerström Assessment

The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence is a standard instrument for assessing the intensity of physical addiction to nicotine. The test was designed to provide an ordinal measure of nicotine dependence related to cigarette smoking. It contains six items that evaluate the quantity of cigarette consumption, the compulsion to use, and dependence.


Take the Quiz


Cold Turkey

Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Prescription Medicine

Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Cold Turkey

People who quit tobacco cold turkey choose not to use a quit aid to help them stop. The advantage to this method is that most of the nicotine is out of the body within a few days.

• It’s the simplest method: stop using tobacco and choose to never start again.

Heavy tobacco users experience nicotine withdrawal for 2 to 3 weeks after quitting cold turkey.

Nicotine withdrawal may include irritability, depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and restlessness.


Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

• Provides a measured dose of nicotine to help ease physical withdrawal symptoms. Using this method allows you to concentrate on changing your tobacco habits without dealing with the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

NRTs can be harmful if:

• You’re pregnant or nursing• You take other medicines• You have a serious medical condition• Don’t use tobacco when using an NRT because of

the risks of a nicotine overdose.


Cold Turkey

*TRICARE covered benefit


Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Gum

• over-the-counter product you can buy at your local pharmacy.

How it works: A piece of nicotine gum is chewed briefly, allowed to rest in the mouth, and then chewed again. This process enables nicotine to be absorbed into the body through the mouth lining.

How long you can use it: Two to three months, up to a maximum of six months


Cold Turkey



Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Lozenges

• hard candy• over-the-counter at your local pharmacy.

How it works: Lozenges release nicotine into the system as they dissolve in the mouth. Each lozenge lasts for about a half hour.

How long you can use it: Up to twelve weeks


Cold Turkey



Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Patch

• Medicine applied to your skin each day• Some brands of the nicotine patch are available

over-the-counter, while others require a prescription from your doctor.

How it works: The patch delivers nicotine through the skin into your body. The nicotine patch is available in 16-hour and 24-hour doses.

How long you can use it: Two to three months


Cold Turkey



Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Nasal Spray

• Prescription medicine

How it works: Spray it into your nostrils every couple of hours.

How long you can use it: Three months, up to a maximum of six months and then gradually tapered off.


Cold Turkey



Cold Turkey


Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Nicotine Inhaler

• Prescription medicine.

How it works: Hold the inhaler to your mouth and inhale to combat cravings.

How long you can use it: Three months, up to a maximum of six months. It is recommended that people use at least 6 cartridges per day in the first three to six weeks, then taper off as cravings decrease


Cold Turkey



Cold Turkey

Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling


Tobacco cessation prescription medicines are clinically proven to help smokers. They are nicotine free, and come in a pill form.

Some significant side effects have been identified for prescription medicines. Talk to your doctor for more information on these and other products and the potential side effects.

• TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery and military pharmacies at no cost.

• Tobacco cessation medicines aren’t covered at retail pharmacies.


Cold Turkey




Cold Turkey

Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Bupropion - Zyban, Wellbutrin, or Aplenzin

• Prescription anti-depressant that reduces symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.

• Doesn’t contain nicotine• Acts on chemicals in the brain that are related to

nicotine craving• Works best if you start it one or two weeks before

you quit


Cold Turkey




Cold Turkey

Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling

Varenicline - Chantix

• Prescription medicine developed to help people stop smoking. It works by interfering with nicotine receptors in the brain.

• Doesn’t contain nicotine• Decreases the pleasure a person gets from smoking• Reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal• Works best if you start a week before you quit• Use should be monitored by your doctor, since serious

neuropsychiatric symptoms have occurred while using it• Shouldn’t be used by personnel operating aircraft

(including aircrew and air traffic controllers) and missile crew members


Cold Turkey




Cold Turkey

Tobacco Counseling

Alternative Therapy

• Acupuncture, hypnosis, and homeopathic remedies

The alternative methods are not scientifically proven to be effective or clinically tested in the same way as the other therapies. If you choose to use an alternative therapy, please make sure that the practitioner you use is qualified.

Homeopathic remedies are derived from natural substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals. Science can't explain why it works. Many of these products may claim high success rates, but these claims are not supported by scientific or clinical evidence.


Cold Turkey

Alternative Therapy



Cold Turkey Tobacco Counseling

• Individual, group or telephone counseling can be a big help if you’re trying to quit.

Counselors can help to identify triggers and develop a new set of behaviors and coping skills.

Counseling and medicine work when used by themselves as methods to quit, but the combination of counseling and medicine, is even more effective.


Cold Turkey

Alternative Therapy

Tobacco Counseling




Setting a Quit Day

Ready2Quit can help you quit, but choosing your quit day is up to you. Once you decide your quit day you’ll be able to think about your plan more clearly and focus on making it through that first day. Set your quit day here on Ready2Quit and with the SmokefreeMIL text message support program. You’ll get reminders leading up to your quit day sent to your email and mobile phone. Remember, the more support you have the more likely you are to succeed at quitting tobacco.

SmokefreeMIL

How to Set a Quit Date


How to Pick Your Quit Day

Pick a day that works best for you. Maybe there’s a holiday or birthday coming up. Think about whether it will be easier to quit before, after or on that day. Give yourself enough time to prepare for your quit day. Get comfortable with the idea first, and take time to make any necessary changes.

SmokefreeMIL



SmokefreeMIL


SmokefreeMIL

Once you set your quit date,

remember to sign up for

SmokeFreeMIL. SmokeFreeMIL is a

24/7 program that provides text

message support leading up to your

quit date, during your worst cravings

and even after you've quit smoking for

good. Text MIL to 47848


Support Locator

Common Tobacco Questions Common Tobacco Questions

Heading to your doctor to get answers about the effects of tobacco or help with how you should quit? Here are a few common questions. Select the questions you want to get answers to and take this sheet with you to your doctor visit.


Common Tobacco Questions

Support Locator

Support Locator

It's not easy to quit smoking and chewing tobacco. But, there are stop smoking programs and stop chewing programs all over the Nation that can help you quit and stay quit. Visit the Support Locator at UCanQuit2.org/SupportLocator to find the programs in your area.


Review the Tobacco Cessation To-Do List

Your quit day is an important milestone and one that you are going to want to brag about. To get the best out of your quit attempt you need to set yourself up for success. Before and during your quit, complete the checklist to make sure you are fully prepared to face the nicotine cravings head on.

Cessation To-Do List


Situations to Avoid

Those cravings and temptations will always be lurking around the corner but you can defeat them if you know what to avoid and how to beat your cravings.


Situations to Avoid Avoid Instead:

Avoid sharing a smoke as a way to spend time together or catch up with family or friends.

• To break up the tension, try making a joke out of it. Carry a straw or toothpick and pretend to be smoking when your family lights up. You also can chew some gum instead of chewing tobacco.

• If you’re using nicotine replacement therapies, remind them of this and tell them that you shouldn’t use tobacco when you’re taking the medicine.

• Remind them of your job: being in the military. Talk about how important it is to you and to your fellow service men and women that you are in peak physical health for your sake, their sake, and the sake of our country.

• Convince them to quit with you, you can handle the situations together and be each other’s support system.


Situations to Avoid Avoid Instead:

Avoid stressful situations, if possible, or learn how to say “no” when someone offers you a smoke.

In a stressful situation, like deployment, someone is likely to offer you a smoke or snuff. Check your quit plan…did you write down any ideas for saying no thanks to smoking or chewing? If not, here are some ideas:

• Thanks, but I’m trying to quit.• Not right now.• Thanks, but I don’t chew.• Smoking gives me a stomachache/headache.• I promised my

girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband I wouldn’t smoke on deployment.

• I plan to start a family after I get home, and I don’t want to be smoking around a baby.

• No way. My little brother/sister likes to imitate me, and I don’t want him/her to see me chewing tobacco.


Situations to AvoidAvoid Instead:

Avoid giving into peer pressure around friends who use tobacco and don’t understand your decision to quit.

You’re an adult, which means you’re in charge of your own health and well-being—and maybe the well-being of a family, too. You have to do what is best for your health, even if it means not following the crowd of smokers or chewers.

If your friends don’t support your decision, maybe it’s time to find a new group of friends. Become friends with non-smokers and ex-smokers who will encourage you to stay tobacco-free.



Avoid places that allow smoking indoors.

Did you always used to go to a bar that allowed smoking? As much as you may love this place, it’s best to find a new restaurant that does not allow smoking indoors. The smell on your clothes or being in this situation may cause you to relapse. Suggest a new place to go with your friends and family. Secondhand smoke contains 4,000 toxic chemicals, so it’s in the best interest of everyone to go someplace smoke free.



Avoid places where you used to buy a pack of smokes or can of dip.

Many places where you used to buy tobacco could be a trigger. Visit a new convenient store to switch up your routine. If you are at a store and buy a pack or dip out of habit, laugh it off. Quitting tobacco can be stressful and it’s important to find light in the situation. Once you realize you bought it, throw it away so it is out of sight and you are not tempted to pick it up.


Remember, the harmful effects of tobacco impact mission readiness and you’ll need to be tobacco free to stay in peak physical shape. Smoking and chewing tobacco can keep your body from healing quickly after an illness or injury, and you don’t need that while you’re deployed.

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Get the most out of Ready2Quit by registering at UCanQuit2.org/Ready2Quit from your computer, smartphone or tablet. Classroom Presentation