Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke remain the leading causes of preventable illness and death in the United States. Life expectancy for smokers is 10 years shorter than for non-smokers. Secondhand smoke kills more than 41,000 people annually in the United States.1
Quitting tobacco use has immediate as well as long-term benefits for you and your loved ones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.2
Sentara Health Plans has designed a free tobacco cessation program called “Stay Smokeless for Life”. It is a self-paced program created to help tobacco and electronic cigarette users quit. It teaches about the nature of nicotine addiction and effective ways to control dependency and addiction. Step through important phases of your quitting tobacco journey by using the video library and toolkit below.
Watch, Learn, Quit
Watch these short videos to get the extra encouragement you need to quit tobacco for good.
Stay Smokeless for Life Toolkit
The contents of this toolkit can assist members with stopping tobacco use. The toolkit files can be downloaded and used as a resource to stop using tobacco products:
For Sentara Health Plans Members Only:
Sign in and select Wellness Tools. Click on the Daily Habits tab at the top of your WebMD portal homepage and select Quit Tobacco.
Additional Resources
- 1-800-QUITNOW, a state-funded tobacco cessation phone and online program with free tobacco cessation counseling and free (limited) Nicotine Replacement Therapy for adults. Call 1-800-QUITNOW or visit Quit Now
- American Lung Association, Quit Smoking
- American Cancer Society, Stay Away From Tobacco
- CDC, Smoking & Tobacco Use
- Smokefree.gov
- Vaping information and quitting support, livevapefreeva.org
1 Smoking and Tobacco Use Fast Facts, 2021 www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/
Video content adapted from:
7 Common Withdrawal Symptoms, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/quit-smoking/7-common-withdrawal-symptoms/index.html
Chemicals in Tobacco Products and Your Health, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2020. https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/health-effects-tobacco-use/chemicals-tobacco-products-and-your-health
The Health Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-anniversary/index.htm
How to Quit, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/index.htm
Know Your Triggers, Smokefree.gov, 2021. https://smokefree.gov/challenges-when-quitting/cravings-triggers
Nicotine Dependence, Mayo Clinic, 2020. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nicotine-dependence/symptoms-causes/syc-20351584
PHS Clinical Practice Guidelines, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ahrq.gov/prevention/guidelines/tobacco/5rs.html
Smoking Cessation Medications, Medline Plus, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007439.htm
Why It’s So Hard to Quit Smoking, American Heart Association, 2018. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/10/17/why-its-so-hard-to-quit-smoking