Over-The-Counter (OTC) Medications

Quitting medications can make quitting much more comfortable, and increase your chance of success.

You can choose to use medications available over the counter. These include nicotine gum, nicotine lozenges, and nicotine patches.

You can buy them without a prescription at any pharmacy, as well as many other retailers like Target, Walmart, Amazon, and Dollar General.

Many states make quitting medications available through a quitline. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to find out what is available in your state.

If you have insurance, most health plans offer quitting medication at no or very low cost to members. Call the number on the back of your insurance card to check on your benefits. Some insurance plans require a prescription from your health care provider to cover the cost of the medication.

When you're ready, set your quit date. Setting a quit date gives you time to get ready, and gives you something to work toward.

Tips for picking a good quit date
  • Today
  • Recommended
  • Quit Date

You've selected a quit date that's in the past

If you have already quit, you can use your My EX Plan page to help stay on track.

If you’ve selected ~DATE1~ by mistake, adjust it to a date in the future. We recommend somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks from today. This will give you time to prepare for your upcoming quit.

Choose Another Date Confirm Quit Date

You've selected a quit date that's within the next two weeks…

Are you sure you're ready? Don’t forget that you’ll need time to re-learn life without cigarettes and prepare before the big day. To make sure you can get everything done, we recommend choosing this date 2-4 weeks from now, ~DATE1~.

If you still want to go with a Quit Date of ~DATE2~, click the button below. Otherwise, close this box and choose another date.

Choose Another Date Confirm Quit Date

You've selected a quit date that's more than four weeks from now.

Are you sure you want to wait that long? If you think it’s going to take you that long to re-learn life without cigarettes and prepare for the big day, then keep it. But in general we’ve found that having a quit date that’s more than four weeks away can give you too much time to change your mind about quitting. So we recommend choosing a date 2-4 weeks from now, ~DATE1~.

If you still want to go with a Quit Date of ~DATE2~, click the button below. Otherwise, close this box and choose another date.

Choose Another Date Confirm Quit Date

You're all ready to quit

Now that you’ve set your quit date, you’ll move to the My EX Plan page. The My EX Plan page will be your home base as you re-learn life without cigarettes and quit smoking.

Ok

OTC Medications

Nicotine Gum

Learn about nicotine gum.

 Nicotine Lozenges

Learn about nicotine lozenges.

 Nicotine Patches

Learn about nicotine patches.

 Combination Therapy

Learn about combination therapy

 Compare OTC Medications

Compare the pros and cons of nicotine gum, nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, and combination therapy.

Read More

Trying to decide on a short-acting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

NDC_Team | September 16, 2020

When choosing the type of NRT you may use, think about which method will best fit your lifestyle and pattern of smoking or using smokeless tobacco. It is not a “one size fits all” when it comes to short-acting NRT and largely is personal preference...

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Anyone successful with patches after failed cold turkey attempts?

Saranicholette | September 27, 2019

I'm currently 89 days cigarette free, this time using the patch. My quitting experience has been extremely different with patches. I already had tools in my arsenal to keep triggers at bay but the patch really, really helped take the edge off...

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