Anna Arkin, Cessation Communications Planner, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, Minnesota Department of Health
Quit Partner (1-800-QUIT-NOW) is Minnesota’s new family of programs to help people who want to quit smoking, vaping, chewing or using other commercial tobacco products.
Quit Partner offers many free support options and resources so people can quit in a way that works best for them. Free support for Minnesota residents includes personalized coaching, email and text support, educational materials, and quit medication (nicotine patches, gum or lozenges) delivered by mail.
With Quit Partner being available online, by phone and by mail, Minnesotans looking to quit nicotine and improve their health during the COVID-19 outbreak don’t have to go it alone. According to the CDC, smoking can compromise the immune system, which makes people at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. People can use as many of the support resources as they would like and can access them from home. Using coaching and medication together can more than double a person’s chance of successfully quitting.
While fewer adults are using tobacco overall, some populations have higher than average rates of commercial tobacco use. To help address these differences and to help people most at risk of nicotine use, Quit Partner offers specialized programs for people living with mental illnesses or substance use disorders, American Indian communities (American Indian Quitline), pregnant and post-partum women, and youth ages 13-17 (My Life, My Quit).
Quit Partner is administered by the Minnesota Department of Health, with quitline programs provided by National Jewish Health, the nation’s leading respiratory hospital and largest, non-profit provider of quitline programs. Learn more at QuitPartnerMN.com.
