Support to stop smoking

Stopping smoking isn’t easy, but hundreds of thousands of people in Aotearoa have done it, and you can too. 

Many of us know someone who has gone ‘cold turkey’, who just decided to stop smoking one day and never smoked again. However, the reality for many people is that quitting smoking is hard, because nicotine is so addictive. Sometimes it takes lots of tries before you finally quit. Just remember that every quit attempt is bringing you one step closer to the day you can say, "I don't smoke."

Best ways to quit

These are some tips to quit smoking and stay off the smokes for good:

• Be mentally ready to quit
• Know who or what motivates you to be smokefree
• Think about what triggers you to smoke and what you can do to avoid them
• Try using “The Four Ds" when craving a smoke 
• Smoking can be linked to other things you do in your everyday life, like having a coffee or socialising. Changing your routine can help 
• Sign up for a free in person Quit Coach or Quitline for support and a personalized plan to help you quit
• When you are on a quitting journey, gaining support from whānau, friends and work mates can make a difference
• Try products such as NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) to reduce the cravings.  Some medications are also available from your doctor to support quitting. Vaping is another method people can use to quit.   

More about Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

The following is a series of videos about the different NRT options that are available in Aotearoa. There videos are in Te Reo Māori and English (with subtitle options in Te Reo, Samoan and Tongan).

Note that the following is a playlist. 

You can also watch individual videos by accessing the full playlist on YouTube or individually:

• Patches: English | Māori
• Gum and lozenges: English | Māori
• Inhalators and mouth spray: English | Māori
• NRT while pregnant: English | Māori

You can also request the video files to be used offline by emailing the Smokefree team.