Your Quit Plan
The following quit plan will help you begin to understand more about your smoking addiction and allow you to start to figure out strategies that will assist you along the way. Either complete the form online or print out the PDF here (link to PDF) and fill it out by hand. It’s okay if you don’t have all this information on hand, you can always partially complete the form and fill the rest out by hand. This quit plan will help prepare you to work with one of our quit coaches and personalize a program that will help you successfully stop smoking.
Why do you smoke?
Before starting your quit journey it’s important to determine why you smoke and where it fits in your life. Maybe you started when you were younger because all of your friends smoked or maybe you first picked up a cigarette during a particularly stressful time. Whatever your reasons, writing them down can give you some perspective when undertaking this difficult challenge.
Why do you want to quit?
Each of us has our own reasons for quitting. What are your reasons? Write down some of the reasons you want to quit. Some people like to print this out and have it in their wallet as a reminder.
What are your concerns about quitting?
It’s important to identify your concerns about quitting smoking so that you can have a plan for dealing with them.
Your smoking routine
Along with figuring out why you smoke, it can be helpful to determine how much you smoke and pinpoint the specific times of the day when you smoke. Try doing this for a typical 24 hour day or over a week. By recording when you smoke, where you smoke, what your mood is when you smoke, and what your level of craving is, you can start to ask yourself whether you really need a cigarette at those times, and find times that you could cut back.
What triggers you?
As we mentioned in Step 1, triggers are those things you do that make you reach for a cigarette. In this section you’ll try to identify what some of your triggers are and brainstorm some potential coping strategies.
Your support options
There are many different support options available through MyQuit. Each has its unique benefits as you saw in Step 1 and choosing the type of support you’d like to receive depends on your personal needs.
Take a look at the support options below and choose the ones that you think might interest you. When you start working with your personal coach you can decide which you want to pursue.
Which medications are you interested in using?
Like every part of quitting, choosing the right quit smoking medication is all about what will work for you. Some people find that the patch works well for them while others prefer pill based medications. If you’d like more information about each medication, visit our section about them in Step 1. Our coaches will be able to provide more information to you on your medication options and answer any questions you may have in order to decide what option will work best for you.
Did you know?
- MyQuit offers a 5-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy free of charge to eligible clients.
- Many health benefit plans cover the cost of quit smoking medications.
- The Ontario Drug Benefit plan covers the pill based medications.
How you would like to quit?
How you would like to quit is an individual choice. You can either set a quit date and quit all at once or quit gradually over a few months. Check below which way you think would work best for you.
Setting your quit day
If you’re ready to quit, one of the best things you can do when preparing to quit is to set a quit day. When thinking of your quit day, keep a few things in mind to help choose one that will work for you.
- Choose a date when your days will be relatively routine
- Consider choosing a Monday or a weekend
- Avoid selecting a date near a major deadline or when you are ill
- Make sure the first few weeks are not filled with many social activities as this may be a trigger for you
- You may want to align your quit date with something personal, such as a birthday or arrival of a child or grandchild, or even an upcoming vacation or special event
- Whichever day you choose, stick with it. Write it down and post it on your fridge. Mentally prepare to become a non-smoker on that day.
- If you are a Woman should avoid picking a date immediately before their menstrual cycle
- Get expert support! Go to Start Now and get connected to one of our coaches!
Complete your quit plan
When you’re ready, just click this button to create your personal quit plan PDF that you can save to your computer and print out. Then head over to Start Now to get started.
