Create a plan to quit smoking

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 34 million adults in the United States still smoke cigarettes. Every year, smoking causes 1 in 5 deaths and remains “the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world.” Every November, the American Cancer Society promotes the Great American Smokeout, encouraging smokers to create a plan to quit.

But you don’t have to do it alone. In fact, your health insurance plan may already offer a tobacco cessation program to help you get started. Continue reading to learn about the benefits of quitting and how to start accessing resources.

What are the benefits of quitting?

The benefits of quitting are significant, no matter your age or how long you’ve been smoking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), quitting:

• Improves health status and overall quality of life.
• Reduces risk of early death and can add up to a decade to your life expectancy.
• Reduces risk for many illnesses, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, COPD, and more.
• Benefits people already diagnosed with COPD or coronary heart disease.
• Benefits the health of pregnant women and their babies.
• Reduces the financial burden that smoking places on smokers, healthcare systems, and society.

What’s even better is that the benefits of quitting start immediately. Per the American Cancer Society, 20 minutes after quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure will drop. A few days after quitting, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood will return to normal. Between two weeks and three months after quitting, your circulation will improve, and your lung function will increase – and you’ll keep seeing benefits up to 15 years after that last cigarette.

How do I prepare to quit?

If you want to quit smoking, the first thing you should do is create a plan. This means picking a quit day, marking it on your calendar, and sticking to it. From there, you’ll also want to:

• Throw out any remaining cigarettes, paraphernalia, or smokeless tobacco items.
• Tell your friends and family about your quit day so they can help hold you accountable.
• Ask others not to smoke around you to reduce temptation.
• Set up a support system that may include family, friends, or a peer who has also quit smoking.
• Determine which resources you’re going to use, such as prescription medication or a smoking cessation hotline.
• Check with your insurance company to see which medications are covered should you choose to go that route.

Mass General Brigham Health Plan members can access the Quit for Life tobacco cessation program. For more information or to enroll, email HealthPlanQuitSmoking@mgb.org or call Joan Heselton at 857-282-3096.

Our tobacco treatment specialists can:

• Assess your smoking habits
• Talk to you about quit methods
• Help you make a quit plan
• Give you information about medication
• Discuss questions you may want to ask your doctor

Contact numbers to help quit

• English: 1-800-QUIT-NOW
• Spanish: 1-855-335-3569
• Korean: 1-800-556-5564
• Mandarin and Cantonese: 1-800-838-8917
• Vietnamese: 1-800-778-8440

We also cover many prescription medications to help users quit for good. For more information about coverage, see your schedule of benefits.

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