How to quit smoking, the short version: pick a quit date, plan for your cravings, and use counseling and a quit medicine together. CDC’s How to Quit Smoking page says it plainly: “Using counseling and medication together gives people who smoke the best chance of quitting for good.” For smokers in Vancleave, Pascagoula, and Moss Point, this fall’s Great American Smokeout makes a handy start date.
The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout page places the event on “the third Thursday in November,” which works out to November 19 in 2026. Total Health Urgent Care, the Vancleave walk-in clinic at 12000 Hwy 57, lists smoking cessation treatment on its services page. That covers an evaluation, a treatment plan built around quitting education and techniques, and prescription medication as needed.
- Pick your day: smokefree.gov’s quit plan builder says to “Pick a day in the next two weeks.”
- Stack your support: the American Cancer Society says “Getting help through counseling and medications doubles or even triples your chances of quitting successfully.”
- Free phone coaching: CDC points smokers to free, confidential coaching through a quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
- Local walk-in help: $130 is Total Health’s self-pay office visit price, and the pricing page folds exams, referrals, and writing prescriptions into it.
How do you quit smoking cigarettes, step by step?
If you’re figuring out how to quit smoking for the first time, or the fifth, these five tips cover the basics: a date, a list of your triggers, a coach, a medicine if it suits you, and a plan for slip-ups.
- Choose a quit date. The advice from the smokefree.gov quit plan is “Pick a day in the next two weeks. This will give you enough time to prepare.” Want a date with company? The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout lands on Thursday, November 19.
- Write down your triggers. Smokefree.gov’s page on managing cravings notes that “Triggers like a stressful situation or sipping coffee may lead to a craving to smoke.” Yours might be the first cup of the morning, the commute down Hwy 57, or a break at the shipyard.
- Line up a coach. The CDC quit page says counseling “can help you make a plan to quit smoking” and can prepare you to cope with stress and urges to smoke.
- Ask about a quit medicine. The FDA’s consumer update on quit-smoking products says “Over-the-counter NRTs are approved for sale to people age 18 and older.” MedlinePlus’s quitting smoking page cautions that smoking aids “may not be right for you if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, a teenager, or if you have certain medical issues or take certain medicines.” The prescription choices are in the table below.
- Plan for a slip. The smokefree.gov plan builder puts it kindly: “If you slip up and smoke, don’t think of it as a failure. Remind yourself that you’ve had a temporary setback.”
When is the Great American Smokeout in 2026?
The 2026 Great American Smokeout is Thursday, November 19, and the American Cancer Society’s Smokeout page invites people who smoke to let that third Thursday “be your day to start your journey toward a smoke-free life!” The same ACS page takes the pressure off, too: “You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with day one.” So treat the 19th as a launch, not a pass-or-fail test.
The event has been around a long time. The ACS history of the Smokeout says that on November 18, 1976, the society’s California Division “got nearly 1 million people who smoke to quit for the day,” and the American Cancer Society “took it nationwide in 1977.” Decades later, the idea is the same: pick one day, get support, and keep going.
Which quit smoking medications does the FDA approve?
The FDA’s list of quit-smoking medicines includes nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) sold over the counter, two NRT products that need a prescription, and two prescription tablets that contain no nicotine. The table follows the FDA consumer update on FDA-approved and FDA-cleared cessation products.
Pairing a patch with a faster-acting form is worth asking about. In American Family Physician’s 2022 article on smoking cessation interventions, the authors write, “Using a combination of long- and short-acting NRTs increases the quit rate by 25% over a single form and is recommended for all nonpregnant adult smokers, especially heavy smokers.” That AFP article also notes that “Nicotine replacement therapy should not be used within two weeks of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or life-threatening arrhythmia.”
The two tablets carry real cautions. The FDA consumer update says, “For users taking these products, risks include changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, aggression, and suicidal thoughts or actions.” The AFP article’s medication table lists bupropion as “Contraindicated in patients with a history of seizures or eating disorders, who are taking medications that lower seizure threshold, or who have used an MAOI in the preceding 14 days.” The FDA guide also says your health care provider “may need to take into consideration your age, whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and medical history.” At Total Health in Vancleave, prescription medication is part of the smoking cessation treatment the clinic offers, given as needed.
Can you quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey?
Yes, some people do it. CDC’s page on quitting without a medicine says some people who skip medication “are able to quit on their own,” while others get help and support from a quit coach, website, app, or their doctor or other healthcare provider.
That same CDC page on quitting cold turkey warns, “Most people who quit without medicines experience worse urges and withdrawal symptoms.” The CDC cold turkey guidance also says that if you smoke a half a pack a day or more, you’re less likely to quit for good without a quit-smoking medicine. If cold turkey didn’t stick for you before, you’re in good company: CDC’s smoking cessation fast facts say tobacco dependence “often requires multiple tries to quit successfully.”
How long does nicotine withdrawal last?
On its managing withdrawal page, smokefree.gov says that “for most people, symptoms are strongest in the first few days or weeks,” and it adds that “The worst withdrawal symptoms only last a few days to a couple of weeks.” MedlinePlus’s nicotine and tobacco article gets more specific: “Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal appear within 2 to 3 hours after you last use tobacco,” and “symptoms peak about 2 to 3 days later.”
MedlinePlus lists the common symptoms as intense craving for nicotine, anxiety, depression, drowsiness or trouble sleeping, bad dreams and nightmares, feeling tense, restless, or frustrated, headaches, increased appetite and weight gain, and problems concentrating. Smokefree.gov’s withdrawal guide also warns, “The first week after quitting is when you are at most risk to slip up and smoke a cigarette or return to smoking.”
When a craving hits, the smokefree.gov cravings page suggests you “Take slow, deep breaths,” “Drink more water,” and “Go for a walk or jog,” and it reminds you that cravings “don’t last forever.”
What happens when you quit smoking?
The American Cancer Society’s page on the health benefits of quitting over time says that “Within minutes of smoking your last cigarette, your body begins to recover,” and the benefits of quitting smoking keep stacking up for years. Over a lifetime, CDC’s benefits of quitting page says quitting “can add as much as 10 years to life expectancy.” Here’s the quit smoking timeline from that ACS page.
Why does quitting matter so much in Mississippi?
Mississippi smokes more than the nation does. According to America’s Health Rankings, 13.8% of Mississippi adults currently smoke, against a US value of 11.6%, based on 2024 data. The American Cancer Society says cigarette smoking “causes about 3 of every 10 cancer deaths” in the US and that “This number is higher in parts of the South and Appalachia.”
Most smokers already want out. CDC’s smoking cessation fast facts report that in 2022, 67.7% of adults who smoked said they wanted to quit, yet only 8.8% were able to successfully quit in the past year. Help from a clinician doesn’t have to be elaborate, either: the same CDC fast facts page says “Even brief advice (less than 3 minutes) from a health professional improves the chance of quitting successfully.”
Smoking also weighs on your lungs. MedlinePlus’s smoking page says smoking can “worsen asthma and raise your risk of pneumonia.” And CDC’s COVID-19 risk factors page includes “Smoking – current or former” among the conditions it lists.
If you’re 50 to 80 with a heavy smoking history and still smoke or quit within the last 15 years, lung cancer screening may be worth asking about. The USPSTF lung cancer screening recommendation calls for “annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.”
Where can you get help quitting smoking near Pascagoula?
Smoking cessation help at Total Health in Vancleave doesn’t require an appointment; walk-ins are welcome. The clinic’s urgent care page describes the location as the Hwy 57 corridor, convenient to Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, and Gautier. The clinic’s About page says patients also come from Moss Point, D’Iberville, Gulfport, and Biloxi.
Morning or evening, Saturday or Tuesday, you can come by between 7 AM and 7 PM. Paying cash? Self-pay patients see $130 for an office visit on the clinic’s price list, with exams, referrals, and writing prescriptions folded in. Insured patients can use most major health plans there, since the clinic bills insurers directly; the copay amount comes from your insurance provider. Because the services list is long, the clinic suggests a quick call to (228) 283-5045 for an accurate self-pay estimate.
Your plan may cover quit help. The adult preventive benefits list on HealthCare.gov includes “Tobacco use screening for all adults and cessation interventions for tobacco users,” though the same page cautions, “Coverage may vary.” For people on Medicare, Medicare.gov’s tobacco counseling page says Part B covers “Up to 8 counseling sessions in a 12-month period.”
Free state help is out there too. WLBT’s August 2026 report on the Mississippi Quitline says its free services include “personalized coaching from tobacco treatment specialists, free nicotine replacement therapy, customized quit plans tailored to your individual needs.”
What makes the best place to get quit-smoking help near Pascagoula?
Look for three things: someone who can evaluate you and prescribe when it’s appropriate, hours that fit a working schedule, and a price you can see ahead of time. Total Health lists prescription medication as part of its smoking cessation treatment. It keeps the same 7 to 7 hours all week and posts its self-pay visit price up front. It’s also urgent care and primary care in Vancleave under one roof, and its primary care page says scheduling for ongoing care helps you keep the same provider.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, at Total Health in Vancleave. The clinic’s services page lists smoking cessation treatment, including an evaluation, a treatment plan with education and quitting techniques, and prescription medication as needed. No appointment is required.
It may, so check your plan. HealthCare.gov lists tobacco use screening and cessation interventions among preventive benefits for adults, though it says coverage may vary. Medicare.gov says Part B covers up to 8 tobacco counseling sessions in a 12-month period.
The American Cancer Society says e-cigarettes are not approved by the FDA as aids to help people stop smoking. The USPSTF says the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of e-cigarettes for quitting, and it recommends directing people to cessation methods with proven effectiveness and established safety.
You might, but it isn’t a given. Smokefree.gov says it’s common for smokers to have bigger appetites and slower metabolisms after quitting, and that this sometimes leads to overeating and weight gain, though it doesn’t have to.
No. The American Cancer Society says quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke.
Smokefree.gov suggests picking a quit day in the next two weeks so you have time to prepare. If you’d like company, the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout falls on Thursday, November 19, 2026.
Start your plan this week, and if you’d like a hand, Total Health Urgent Care is open at 12000 Hwy 57 in Vancleave every day of the week. Questions before you come in? Reach the clinic at (228) 283-5045 or through the contact page. You’ve got this!
Total Health Urgent Care prepared this smoking cessation guide for Gulf Coast readers. Jennifer Duncan (APRN, MSN, and FNP-C) founded the clinic, and her About page puts her emergency and urgent care experience at more than 25 years. Use this guide as general information; it can’t replace a diagnosis or a treatment plan made for you.