Prevention check
What help should I get to quit smoking?
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability and death in the US. The US Preventive Services Task Force says what help clinicians should offer adults who smoke, including during pregnancy. Check what applies to you.
About you
Nothing you enter leaves this page.
What you will see
Which kinds of quitting help the USPSTF recommends for you.
Educational only, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician before starting any medicine.
Source
US Preventive Services Task Force, January 2021 recommendation on interventions for tobacco smoking cessation in adults, including pregnant persons.
Validated in
Adults 18 or older, including pregnant people.
Limits
It does not choose a medicine or dose for you. It does not cover people under 18, who have a separate USPSTF recommendation.
What the USPSTF recommends
| Who | Recommendation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Adults who are not pregnant | Ask about tobacco use, advise stopping, and provide behavioral support and FDA-approved medicine to people who use tobacco | A |
| Pregnant people | Ask about tobacco use, advise stopping, and provide behavioral support to people who use tobacco | A |
| Pregnant people | Medicine to quit: evidence insufficient | I |
| All adults | E-cigarettes to quit: evidence insufficient; use proven methods instead | I |
Why it matters
Cigarette smoking, including secondhand smoke, was estimated to cause 480,000 US deaths a year. In 2019 about 20.8% of US adults used tobacco and 14.0% smoked cigarettes (USPSTF 2021). Smoking in pregnancy raises the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, poor fetal growth, preterm birth, placental abruption and sudden infant death syndrome (USPSTF 2021). Most people who smoke want to stop: in a 2015 survey 68% wanted to quit and 55% had tried in the past year (USPSTF 2021).
What works
- Counseling: advice from a doctor or nurse, individual or group counseling, phone counseling (quitlines) and text-message programs all help (USPSTF 2021). Among people who called a quitline, 10.8% quit with phone counseling vs 7.8% without it (USPSTF 2021).
- Medicine: nicotine replacement (patch, gum, lozenge, inhaler or nasal spray), bupropion SR and varenicline all raise quit rates. Combining a long-acting and a short-acting nicotine product works better than one alone, and varenicline appears more effective than nicotine replacement or bupropion (USPSTF 2021). In trials 25.6% quit with varenicline vs 11.1% with placebo (USPSTF 2021).
- Both together: medicine plus intensive counseling gave 15.2% abstinence at 6 months or more vs 8.6% with usual care or brief advice (USPSTF 2021).
Free counseling is available from your state quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), with Spanish support at 1-855-335-3569 (Smokefree.gov).
Quitting in pregnancy
Any counseling helps pregnant people quit, and more intensive counseling with pregnancy-specific messages works better. Quitting at any point helps, but quitting early helps the baby most (USPSTF 2021). The USPSTF found no studies of bupropion or varenicline in pregnancy, so clinicians weigh medicine case by case with the patient (USPSTF 2021).
Common questions
Can I use e-cigarettes to quit?
The USPSTF found the evidence insufficient to recommend them for quitting and says no tobacco product use is risk-free, including e-cigarettes. It recommends that clinicians point people to methods with proven effectiveness and safety (USPSTF 2021).
Do I need a lung cancer scan?
Maybe, if you are 50 to 80 and smoked heavily. Use the lung cancer screening eligibility check.
Also see the heart risk calculator, the COPD screening check, the abdominal aortic aneurysm screening check, the bladder cancer screening check, the oral cancer screening check, the alcohol screening (AUDIT-C) and all screening tests by age.
Sources
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Interventions for Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2021;325(3):265. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/tobacco-use-in-adults-and-pregnant-women-counseling-and-interventions
- National Cancer Institute, Smokefree.gov. Speak to an Expert: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) connects to your state quitline. smokefree.gov/tools-tips/get-extra-help/speak-to-an-expert
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-10-30. Spotted an error? See About.