If you want to quit smoking, help is here

Tobacco Cessation is a free group workshop. It has helped many patients quit smoking since it was launched in 2008.

Peer support through group sessions—a key component of this workshop—has been shown to significantly increase quit rates.

“The hardest thing to do is to try and quit by yourself. I’ve tried it several times and it didn’t work. It was my turn to quit and this program did a fantastic job for me.”
– Blaine, Tobacco Cessation participant

If you would like to attend one of these workshops, please call our Program Coordinator at 1-855-72CFPCN (23726).

Quit smoking workshop details week-by-week:

Week 1: Quitting smoking is hard, but worth it

This week covers:

  • Why nicotine is addictive
  • Personal pros and cons of quitting

“They did not go about trying to tell you how bad smoking is. They spend most of their time being proactive and [telling you] what you need to do to stop it.”
– Naser, Tobacco Cessation participant

Week 2: Medications and strategies to stop smoking

Learn about:

  • Medications, including nicotine replacement therapies, and how they work
  • Withdrawal from nicotine

Participants can get free samples of nicotine replacement therapies

Week 3: Taking it slowly to quit smoking successfully

This week covers:

  • Strategies to help you handle cravings
  • Skills to reduce the risk of weight gain
  • Stress management techniques

Week 4: Next steps to stop smoking

Review:

  • Strategies, challenges and successes
  • Medication
  • Supports available in Calgary from the Primary Care Network and other groups

Patients who are not ready to quit, but may want to quit in the future, can opt to receive follow-up calls and information, including class information and dates.

Patients can attend the class multiple times.

Tips and tricks to help you quit smoking:

  • Tell somebody about your plan to quit
  • Recruit support from family and friends. Try calling them instead of having a cigarette
  • List your top five reasons to quit and keep your list close by
  • Avoid “trigger” environments
  • Have gum or carrots handy to keep your mouth busy
  • Try reducing the number of cigarettes you have in a day, or extend the time between each cigarette
  • Reward yourself for small achievements
  • Throw away all tobacco-related products (ashtrays, lighters)
  • Relapse is normal. Get back on track as soon as you can
  • Check out our quitting tobacco section on our health and wellness resources page
  • Call AHS’ AlbertaQuits Helpline—a free, confidential telephone counselling service for smokers and spit tobacco users—at 1-866-710-QUIT (7848)