Quit VET

Tobacco and Health

Quit VET

VA’s free telephone quitline, 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838), offers tobacco cessation counseling to any Veteran who receives their health care through VA. Quit VET is staffed by trained counselors who will help you during any phase of quitting—whether you are thinking about it, you started your quit attempt, or you are trying to get back on track after a slip or relapse to tobacco.

Remember, when you combine counseling with cessation medication, you give yourself the best chance at quitting for good. Quit VET counseling is offered in both English and Spanish.

What To Expect When You Call

To get started, call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays). Your first call will last 15–30 minutes and your counselor may ask you specific questions about your tobacco use, past attempts to quit, and reasons you want to be tobacco-free. With that information, the two of you will create a personal quit plan that works for you.

When you speak with a Quit VET counselor, you can expect:

• Counseling based on knowledge of the VA health care system and military culture
• Help with identifying strategies to tackle cravings and slips
• At least four follow-up counseling calls, scheduled at your convenience
• Counseling in English or Spanish

While Quit VET counselors cannot provide smoking cessation medications to callers, such medications are available by prescription from your VA health care provider. Any information you provide to the counselor during the call is kept private. It will not be shared with your VA health care provider or entered in your VA electronic medical record. Quit VET counselors receive VA’s suicide prevention training annually and provide warm transfer for Veterans in distress to the Veterans Crisis Line.

Quit VET is a collaboration between VA and the National Cancer Institute.

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