Stop Smoking for Good

Health*Matters is pleased to offer these referrals for faculty and staff who want to quit smoking for good.

• Interactive Tool: Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
• Smoking Cessation Programs
  
  • Phone Counseling
    
  • Online Programs
    
  • Online Quit Guides
    
  • Additional Online Resources
    
  • Local Classes and Support Groups
    
• Working with Your Doctor and Health Plan
• Smoking Cessation Aids
• Other Resources to Support You
  

Interactive Tool

• Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?
  From WebMD, this interactive tool measures your readiness to quit smoking. The tool uses the stages-of-change approach, which is based on research about how people typically make behavior changes. The approach suggests that to make positive change, people must go through distinct stages from not thinking about quitting to actually quitting. Based on your answers, this tool will identify the stage you are in and help you think about what to do next.
  

Smoking Cessation Programs

Phone Counseling

• California Smoker's Helpline
  1-800-NO-BUTTS
  A telephone counseling program, the California Smoker's Helpline offers up to seven free sessions of individual telephone counseling if you are ready to quit now. A study showed that California residents who got counseling through Helpline were twice as likely to stop smoking as those who sought no outside help. When you call, a trained staff person will offer a choice of services, from one-on-one telephone counseling, self-help materials to a referral list of other programs. The helpline has services in the following languages, Monday - Friday, 9-9 and Saturdays, 9-5.

• Cancer Information Service
  1-800-4-CANCER
  The National Cancer Institute offers help for quitting smoking, personalized answers to you questions about cancer, or free publications and referrals to community resources for smoking cessation. English and Spanish.

Online Programs

• QuitNet.com
  A free online, interactive program developed by the School of Public Health at Boston University. This program blends proven scientific methods with web technology to customize a smoking cessation program for you. It provides tools to help you quit, ex-smoker to smoker support, timely emails and lots more. This site also maintains a directory of smoking cessation programs (classes) and many more helpful links.

Online Quit Guides

• Smokefree.gov
  Created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society. This comprehensive site provides an online guide as well as downloadable resources to quitting smoking.

• Clearing the Air: Quit Smoking Today
  An online booklet that guides a smoker through the day-to-day process of becoming a non-smoker, is available from the National Cancer Institute. The document describes practical, step-by-step approaches and techniques for preparing yourself for quitting, understanding the ways of quitting, knowing what to expect on the day you quit, and lots more. Referrals to additional information and resources are included.

• Quit Smoking Action Plan
  From The American Lung Association's Tobacco Control Website providing information on how to quit smoking, including a Quit Smoking Action Plan and a Nicotine Replacement Therapy Fact Sheet.
  
  
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Tobacco Information and Prevention Source
  Current tobacco-related news, educational materials, and guides to help you quit smoking.

Additional Online Resources

• American Cancer Society's Tobacco Control Web Page
  Information about the health hazards due to smoking, how-to tips for quitting, dealing with withdrawal, maintenance issues once you quit and much, much more.

• Tobacco Cessation Guideline
  An online library of smoking cessation educational materials from The Virtual Office of the Surgeon General . This site also has press releases, fact sheets, and other information on tobacco use and cessation.
  
  
• National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service
  Information about cessation programs and the health risks associated with using tobacco products.

Local Classes and Support Groups

• City of Berkeley's Freedom from Tobacco Programs
  (510) 981-5330 or email QuitNow@ci.berkeley.ca.us
  Free, on-going, 6-week class and a two-session workshop with the option of either acupuncture or hypnosis. Use the link above for the current schedule or contact the City of Berkeley via phone or email for more information.

• UCSF's Tobacco Education Center
  (415) 885-7895
  Comprehensive smoking cessation and relapse prevention services located at UCSF Medical Center/Mt. Zion. The Relapse Prevention Support Group meets every Monday (except holidays) from 5:30-6:45 pm and is available to graduates of the cessation program who want continued support to become and remain smoke-free. A $5 drop-in fee is requested but not required. Individual consultation appointments with physicians trained in treating tobacco addiction are also available. Group programs are facilitated by a nurse who is a former smoker.
  

• American Lung Association
  (925) 935-0472
  Classes are held throughout the East Bay. Call to find one that meets your needs. Fees average about $100 for a series.

• Nicotine Anonymous
  (415) 752-2230 or hotline at (408) 236-2196
  Modeled after AA, these groups meet at many locations. Call for a recorded list of free meetings.

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Working with Your Doctor and Health Plan

To maximize your success as a non-smoker, Health*Matters, the worksite health promotion program, encourages you to make an appointment with your doctor to discuss the use of complementary quitting tools to minimize withdrawal symptoms. Research has shown success rates are significantly improved when nicotine replacement products such as nicotine patches or gum, or prescription medications such as ZybanŽ or Wellbutrin, are coupled with a smoking cessation program.

Check with your doctor regarding insurance coverage for smoking cessation aids and what programs your health plan offers. The HMO plans for UC Berkeley offer the following:

HealthNet 1-800-522-0088

For HealthNet members (your must login):

• Stop Smoking - Free online program.
• Free & Clear® - Telephone program providing personalized support from a professional counselor.
• Online links to Quitnet®, a free, national online smoking cessation program.

Kaiser Permanente 1-800-464-4000

For Kaiser members (you must login):

• Healthmedia Breathe® - Free online program; includes a pharmacy benefit for participants.
  
• Freedom from Tobacco - Free workshop for members; non-members can enroll for a fee.
  
• Individual counseling available with co-pay.
• Healthphone - Free telephone info with pre-recorded messages.

For both Kaiser members and non-members:

• Online educational materials and personal stories from Kaiser members who successfully quit smoking and information on the hazards of tobacco and the benefits of not smoking.
• Call 1-800-332-7563 for Healthphone, a free phone message service addressing many health issues related to smoking cessation, including developing a plan for quitting, quitting information for teen smokers, dealing with chronic lung problems and more.
• Smoking cessation classes, typically 6-8 weeks, are offered at many Kaiser facilities. Check with the Health Education Department at your local facility. Class fee and co-pays vary; non-Kaiser members pay a higher fee.

Blue Cross 1-800-634-3435

For Blue Cross members (you must login):

• The Last Cigarette (TLC) Quit Kit - Free kit providing info and record-keeping tools.
  
• Living Free - Online 3-5 week program; $75 for Blue Cross members.
  
• Various discounted quit smoking products and services available online for purchase, including nicotine gum and patches, books, and relaxation CDs.

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Smoking Cessation Aids

It's a myth that kicking the habit is easy. Most smokers make several attempts at quitting before finding success. Why? It's not about willpower. It's about nicotine, a powerfully addictive drug that makes the body both physically and psychologically dependent. Smokers must overcome both of these dependencies to stay smoke-free. Here is more information about pharmaceutical, nicotine replacement and alternative smoking cessation aids:

Pharmaceutical Aids:

• Zyban and Wellbutrin information from QuitNet.com and from the American Cancer Society

• Nicotine Replacement Therapy information from the American Lung Association.

Alternative Aids- Hypnosis:

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More Resources to Support You

• Campus Walking Group

• CARE Services for help with stress management

• List of Community Resources for smoking cessation programs
  
  
• UC Berkeley's Smoke Free Policy

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