You are a woman.
You are a smoker.
You are not alone. Approximately 18% of adult women smoke. More than half of all smokers want to quit. There is help.
Read this guide … even if you are not ready to quit now. Learn more about products and medicines to help you quit smoking. Read tips to help you make a quit smoking plan that may work for you. Use this guide to help you talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
Many people who smoke become addicted to a chemical called nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products. If you try to stop smoking, you might crave cigarettes, feel nervous, feel irritable (cranky), or have headaches. These are signs of withdrawal. There are products you can try that may lessen these problems and help you quit. You can buy some of these products at your local drug store. You need a prescription from your doctor for others.
Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. In fact, lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer. Did you know that if you quit smoking you may improve your health right away? Quitting may improve your skin, reduce bad breath, and make your hair smell better.
The Same Day You Quit
Your blood pressure will go down
Within a Month
Your circulation (blood flow) will get better
Your breathing may improve
Within a Year
Your risk of heart disease will be half of someone who smokes
Overall, your chance of dying of lung cancer will be less if you quit. Your chance of getting other kinds of cancer like throat, kidney or bladder cancer will also go down.
Always tell your doctor or nurse that you smoke when you go to get your birth control.
Smoking harms the health of women and their babies.
Try to quit smoking before you become pregnant. If you find out that you are pregnant, talk to your doctor right away about safe ways that you can quit smoking.
www.smokefree.gov
1-800-QUITNOW
1-800-784-8669
TTY: 1-800-332-8615
National Cancer Institute
1-877-448-7848
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco
Product Type | Product Name | Availability |
---|---|---|
Patch | Habitrol Nicoderm Store Brand or Generic |
Over-the-Counter |
Gum | Nicorette Store Brand or Generic |
Over-the-Counter |
Nasal Spray | Nicotrol | Prescription |
Inhaler | Nicotrol | Prescription |
Lozenge | Commit Store Brand or Generic |
Over-the-Counter |
Nicotine replacement products give your body nicotine without the other chemicals found in cigarettes and other tobacco products. These products help you wean your body off cigarettes. Nicotine Replacement products should be used for a short time to help you deal with withdrawal. Read the label and talk to your pharmacist or doctor about the right way to use each product.
Like any medicine, nicotine replacement products may cause some side effects. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your specific risks. Check the next page for general warnings about using these products.
The side effects are different for each product.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor to tell you about all of the side effects and
risks for each product.
You can also check the FDA website for more information of each product. Go to: Drugs@FDA.
Stop use and call your doctor if you have any of these signs:
Product Type | Brand Name | Generic Name | Availability |
---|---|---|---|
Pill | Zyban | Bupropion | Prescription |
Stop use and call your doctor if you have a seizure.
Product Type | Brand Name | Generic Name | Availability |
---|---|---|---|
Pill | Chantix | Varenicline Tartrate | Prescription |
You can also check the FDA website for more information of each non-nicotine medicine to quit smoking. Go to: Drugs@FDA.
This information reflects FDA's current analysis of data available to FDA concerning these products. FDA intends to update this sheet when additional information or analyses become available.
Check the following website for the most recent information about each drug: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/