Quit Support

You do not have
to quit alone.

Combining Nicotine Replacement Therapy with behavioral support can be 70–100% more effective than minimal intervention alone.^1,2

Peelz provides both.

Peelz Support Hotline

(800) 555-2045

Open daily: 9 AM – 5 PM EST · staffed by certified nurse practitioners

Book a Free 1-on-1 Session

Free with every Peelz purchase

Support Hotline — speak with a certified nurse practitioner, no appointment needed

1-on-1 Coaching — 30-min private sessions with a Peelz quit coach

Personalized Portal — track usage, get tailored step-down feedback

Weekly Check-Ins — personalized tips & milestone emails

Custom Step-Down Plan — built around your health history & goals

Fully Confidential — your data is never sold

Evidence-Based Strategies

Tools to Manage Cravings & Withdrawal

The average craving lasts only 5–10 minutes³. You can get through this. Click any card to learn more.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Prevention & Daily Stability — Stay ahead of cravings before they hit

Identify & Reduce Triggers

Cravings are often tied to automatic patterns. Identify your triggers and change what you do in those moments to break the cue → cigarette loop.⁴

Click to learn more

Support Your Body

Your body is adjusting to less nicotine. Hydration, regular meals, consistent sleep, and movement all reduce craving intensity and mood swings.^5,6

Click to learn more

Build Your Support System

Social accountability and one-on-one counseling are among the most powerful predictors of success. Tell people, use a coach, set boundaries.⁷

Click to learn more

When a Craving Hits

In-the-Moment Tools — the average craving lasts only 5–10 minutes³. Push through!

⏱️The 5 D's

Delay · Distract · Drink water · Deep breathe · Discuss. Five tools to ride out a craving in the minutes it lasts.⁸

Click to learn more

Urge Surfing

Watch the craving rise and fall without reacting to it. Think of it as a wave — observe it instead of fighting it or giving in.^9,10

Click to learn more

Reinforce Your Motivation

Reconnect with why you are quitting. Track savings, notice physical improvements, celebrate every win — momentum builds confidence.¹¹

Click to learn more

More prevention and craving management tools →

Other Free Resources

National support programs

Free to anyone — no Peelz purchase required. See all CDC resources →

National

1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)

National CDC quitline — free counseling, confidential. Some states provide free NRT. Available 7 days a week.

Text

Text QUITNOW to 333888

Free text-based quit support from the CDC National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines.

Online / App

Smokefree.gov & quitSTART App

Interactive quit plans, live chat, and text support from the NCI. smokefree.gov → | Download quitSTART →

Veterans

Quit VET — 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838)

VA's free telephone quitline for U.S. veterans & service members. More info →

Book a Free 1-on-1 Session

Work directly with a Peelz quit support coach. Sessions are confidential, personalized, and completely free.

30 minutes via phone or video

Available throughout your 8-week program

Fully confidential

No purchase required to book

Or call: (800) 555-2045

Schedule Your Session

Full Name

Email Address

Phone Number

Session Type

Preferred Time

Confirmed within 1 business day via email.

Track your patterns for a few days: Note the Time · Location · Activity · Mood each time you feel a craving. You will start to see the pattern clearly.

Change the routine, not the trigger:
Coffee → coffee + short walk
After meals → brush teeth or chew gum
Work break → stretch or step outside
Driving → podcast + gum instead

Modify your environment early on: Avoid bars or settings where you usually smoke at first. Limit alcohol if it weakens your resolve. Stay around people and places where smoking is not the norm.

Be patient with yourself: Habit loops took years to form — they take time to unwind. Each time you choose differently, the old pattern weakens. It gets easier.

Stay hydrated: Drink water throughout the day — especially when cravings hit. Dehydration amplifies irritability and withdrawal symptoms.

Eat regularly — every 3–4 hours: Low blood sugar worsens cravings and mood swings. Do not skip meals. Focus on protein and complex carbs.

Prioritize sleep: Go to bed and wake at the same time each day. Fatigue significantly weakens willpower and makes cravings harder to manage.

Reduce caffeine if anxious: As you reduce nicotine, caffeine may hit harder — cut back if you feel on edge or jittery.

Move your body: Even a 10-minute walk releases endorphins and temporarily reduces cravings. Exercise is one of the most well-researched tools for cessation support.

Tell people you trust: Let friends, family, or coworkers know you are quitting. Social accountability significantly improves outcomes. Even saying it out loud makes it more real.

Use a coach or quitline: One-on-one counseling works — and it is free. Book a free Peelz session → or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Set boundaries early on: It is okay to avoid places where you usually smoked, or to ask friends not to smoke around you for a while. This is temporary — and strategic.

Track your progress: Use the Peelz portal to log strip use and watch your usage drop over time.

More free options:
quitSTART App — smokefree.gov
Text QUITNOW to 333888
Veterans: 1-855-QUIT-VET

Delay: Set a 10-minute timer. Commit to not acting on the craving yet. In most cases, the urge will pass on its own.

Distract: Change what you are doing — take a walk, call someone, do a task, chew gum, wash your hands. Occupy your hands and your mind.

Drink water: Take slow sips. Water occupies your mouth, helps flush nicotine, and gives you something physical to focus on.

Deep breathe: Try a slow, structured breathing technique like box breathing. Quieting the breath quiets the mind, reduces stress, and softens the intensity of the craving — leaving you with a small sense of peace. See box breathing instructions →²¹

Discuss: Reach out to a friend, family member, or someone in your support system. Talking to people who have your back can pull your attention off the craving and help you stay focused on why you are quitting.

Start with the breath: Watch your breath without altering it — let it breathe itself. Notice your thoughts. Without judging, feeding, or fighting them, gently bring your attention back to the breath.

Locate the urge in your body: Pick one area where you feel the craving most. Get curious. Does it feel tight or loose? Does it have a temperature? Where exactly is it? Are its edges sharp like the seam on a football, or soft and fuzzy like a cotton ball? How does it shift with each breath?

Watch it for at least five breaths: Replace the fearful wish for the urge to go away with curious interest in the experience. Watch for about a minute and notice any changes in intensity or size — you may see it crest and subside on its own.

Use a water metaphor: Picture the urge as an ocean wave that rises, crests, and dissipates — your breath is the surfboard. Or a riptide: fight it head-on and you will exhaust yourself, but swim parallel and you will float free. Or imagine stepping behind a waterfall and watching the water rush past instead of trying to block it.

When your mind wanders, come back: Cravings will try to pull you into thinking and planning. Each time you notice your mind drifting, gently return to the physical sensations of the urge until it subsides.

Remind yourself why: Health. Surgery prep. Family. Cost savings. More energy. Write your reasons down and keep them somewhere you will see them when cravings hit.

Track money saved: Calculate what you have saved since starting. Even a few days adds up. Over a year, many smokers save $2,000–$5,000+. Calculate how much you will save →²⁰

Notice physical improvements: Lungs begin clearing within 72 hours. Taste and smell improve within days. Energy and circulation increase over weeks. These are real wins — acknowledge them.

Celebrate small wins: "I got through that craving." "I made it today." "That is 3 days." Small victories are the building blocks of lasting change. Celebrate them consciously.

Journal your progress: Writing down what you are going through — what worked, what was hard, what you are proud of — reinforces your commitment and helps you see how far you have come.

Surgical Support

Prepare your body.
Protect your results.

Nicotine use is widely considered one of the most important modifiable risk factors for surgical complications.¹² Peelz helps you reduce nicotine before surgery — and our surgical support page covers everything else you can do to set yourself up for success.

↓23%lower risk of breathing complications if patients quit ≥4 weeks before surgery¹³

↓31%lower risk of wound-healing problems if patients quit ≥3–4 weeks before surgery¹³

↓47%lower risk if patients quit ≥8 weeks before surgery¹³

Start Your Plan Before Surgery →

Patient consulting with healthcare provider before surgery

Why Nicotine Matters Before Surgery

The evidence is clear — and it is on your side

Tobacco use is a major, modifiable risk factor for surgical complications.¹³ The good news: quitting — even temporarily — meaningfully improves your outcomes.

Smoking during surgery increases risk of:¹²

Impaired lung function

Heart-related issues

Infections

Poor wound healing

Anesthesia complications

Quitting before surgery:

+19%

Better outcomes for each additional tobacco-free week beyond 4 weeks before surgery.¹²

Significantly fewer wound healing problems

Reduced surgical site infection risk

Lower anesthesia complications

Better 6-month outcomes

Your Pre-Op Timeline

Build your best surgical foundation

Think of this as prehabilitation — getting your body as strong and healthy as possible before surgery to optimize how you recover. Here is a research-backed timeline.

6–8 Weeks Before

Stop smoking — start Peelz

Intensive smoking cessation 6–8 weeks before elective surgery may significantly reduce postoperative complications. Begin your Peelz step-down plan now — every tobacco-free week improves your outcomes. Talk to your surgeon about your quit plan.¹⁴

4 Weeks Before

Start nutritional optimization

Nutritional interventions should ideally begin 4 weeks prior to surgery. Aim for a daily protein intake of at least 1.2 g/kg body weight to build and preserve lean muscle mass. Malnutrition is a modifiable risk factor for surgical complications. Reduce or eliminate alcohol in the weeks leading up to surgery — heavy drinking can weaken the immune system, interfere with medications you may be taking, and slow healing. Limiting alcohol intake before surgery can improve healing and reduce complications.^15,16

2–4 Weeks Before

Prehabilitation — get moving

Improving your fitness before surgery strengthens your cardiovascular system, muscle function, and overall endurance — all of which improve recovery. Aim to layer in:

Aerobic exercise — walking, swimming, or cycling to boost cardiovascular endurance and oxygen delivery during and after surgery.
Strength training — weights or bodyweight resistance work to build the muscle strength you will need for post-op mobility and rehab.
Flexibility & balance — yoga, Pilates, or targeted balance work to help prevent falls and improve mobility after surgery.
Breath-focused exercises — diaphragmatic breathing and inspiratory muscle training can reduce post-operative respiratory complications and enhance lung function.

Exercise also helps manage nicotine withdrawal.¹⁶

1 Week Before

Be at 0 mg nicotine

Complete your Peelz step-down so you are fully off all nicotine — 0 mg — at least 7 days (1 week) before your surgery date. A full nicotine-free week before surgery gives your circulation, wound-healing, and lung function time to rebound from nicotine's effects, which significantly improves your outcomes.

To leave that 7-day buffer, start your kit one week earlier than its program length: 9 weeks before surgery for the 8-Week Kit, 11 weeks for the 10-Week Kit, or 13 weeks for the 12-Week Kit. Confirm the exact timeline with your surgeon.

Days Before

Optimize hydration

Stay well-hydrated. Hydration is essential for circulation, kidney function, and overall cellular health. When the body is properly hydrated it transports nutrients more efficiently, maintains good circulation to key organs (brain, kidneys), helps flush out toxins, and promotes faster healing. The goal of preoperative fluid management is to arrive at surgery in a well-hydrated, euvolemic state — dehydration increases anesthetic risk and impairs recovery, so drink water consistently in the days leading up to your procedure.^16,17

Days Before

Get your rest

Prioritize sleep in the days leading up to surgery. Proper rest supports your immune system, which in turn promotes faster recovery after the procedure.¹⁶

Day of Surgery

Follow fasting guidelines

Always follow the specific fasting guidelines given to you by your surgeon, anesthesiologist, or healthcare team — they are the authority for your case.

A typical pre-op fasting plan for adults follows the "2-4-6-8 rule"¹⁸:

2 hours before anesthesia: no clear liquids
6 hours before anesthesia: no light meals
8 hours before anesthesia: no fatty or fried foods

The goal of fasting before general anesthesia is to reduce the volume and acidity of stomach contents during surgery, which lowers the risk of regurgitation and aspiration.¹⁹

Post-Op

Keep up the pre-op routine

The same habits that helped you prepare for surgery will help you recover from it. After surgery, continue to:

Stay nicotine-free — wound healing is most critical in the first 2–4 weeks after surgery. Lean on Peelz to manage any lingering cravings.
Maintain good nutrition with adequate protein to support healing.
Resume movement and light exercise as cleared by your surgeon — early mobilization minimizes muscle loss and speeds recovery.
Stay well-hydrated.
Prioritize rest and sleep while your body heals.

Contact your care team right away if you notice red flags — increasing pain, fever, redness or drainage at the incision, shortness of breath, or anything that feels off.¹⁶