DO YOU OR A FRIEND NEED INFORMATION ON QUITTING TOBACCO USE?
Yes, I use tobacco, and I want to quit.
Quitting can be hard. You may have already tried to quit before. But you can double your chances of quitting for good by calling QuitlineNC and signing up with a Quit Coach. QuitlineNC is free of charge and available from 8 a.m. until 3 a.m., seven days a week. Call 1-800-Quit-Now or 1-800-784-8669.
Did you know that your campus health service may offer classes or counseling on ways to quit? Campus healthcare providers can sometimes provide free or reduced-cost nicotine replacement therapies to help you in quitting.
Click on one of the following fact sheets for information to help you quit tobacco use:
- Being Around Other Smokers...Without Smoking
- Driving or Riding in a Car...Without Smoking
- Enjoying Coffee and Tea...Without Smoking
- Enjoying Meals...Without Smoking
- Facing Boredom...Without Smoking
- Facing the Morning...Without Smoking
- Handling Anxiety...Without Smoking
- Handling Cravings...Without Smoking
- Handling Depression...Without Smoking
- Handling Irritability and Frustration...Without Smoking
- Handling Stress...Without Smoking
- Having a Drink...Without Smoking
- Myths about NRT
- Make your home and car smoke-free zones. No one should ever smoke inside your home or car.
- Protect your health and the health of your friends – avoid places where smoking is allowed.
Yes, I use tobacco, but I don’t smoke all the time.
Did you know social (intermittent) smokers light up regularly but not daily. They only have a cigarette when they go out with friends. They think, "I will smoke a little in social situations and quit later."
Myth: Real smokers are people who can’t make it through a day without their cigarettes.
Fact: There is really no safe amount of smoking. Social smoking is smoking. Social smoking can lead to regular smoking. Many intermittent smokers go on to become daily smokers.
Myth: There’s no risk of getting cancer if someone only smokes a few years.
Fact: If you smoke at all you are at an increased risk for cancer and heart disease. The 2010 Surgeon General’s Report concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure to tobacco smoke – even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke – is harmful. You don’t have to be a heavy smoker or a long-time smoker to get a smoking-related disease or have a heart attack or asthma attack that is triggered by tobacco smoke. Low levels of smoke exposure, including exposures to secondhand tobacco smoke, lead to a rapid and sharp increase in dysfunction and inflammation of the lining of the blood vessels, which are implicated in heart attacks and stroke. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and compounds. Hundreds are toxic and more than 70 cause cancer. Tobacco smoke itself is a known human carcinogen. Therefore, there is no safe amount of smoking. Do your health a favor and quit.
Yes, sometimes people smoke around me.
If people smoke around you, you are being exposed to secondhand smoke coming from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar. Secondhand smoke is not safe and can cause disease. Even low levels can harm your health.
What can I do to protect myself and my friends?
FACT: Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, and at least 250 of them are harmful to your health. There is hardly a part of the human body that's not affected by the chemicals in tobacco.
The bottom line: choose not to smoke and do not allow anyone to smoke around you.