Getting ready
This guide is for anyone in Burlington or nearby who has decided to stop smoking or vaping and wants a structured way to go about it. It covers keeping track of your habits, using the places around you, and picking an independent provider from this directory. It does not replace advice from your own doctor or pharmacist.
Step 1: Track a typical week
For seven days, note each time you smoke or vape. Write the time, where you were, and what you were doing. Patterns show up fast: the first coffee, the walk to the car, a break at work, a drink with friends on a Friday.
Circle the three moments that feel hardest to change. These are the ones to plan around.
Step 2: Notice where you already can't light up
Vermont law already takes some of the day off the table. According to the Vermont Department of Health, the Clean Indoor Air Act banned lit tobacco products in nearly all common areas of indoor places of public access, Act 135 in 2014 extended secondhand smoke protections in workplaces, motor vehicles and public places, and Act 108 in 2016 restricts e-cigarettes and vaping devices wherever smoking is prohibited.
If you spend time at the University of Vermont, its Tobacco and Cannabis-Free policy prohibits tobacco use on any property the university owns, leases or operates, including vehicles, for faculty, students, staff, contractors and visitors.
Look at your log from Step 1. How many hours of your week are already spent in places like these? Those hours are a base to build on.
Step 3: Pick a start date
Choose a date within the next few weeks. Avoid a day you already know will be stressful, like a major deadline or a family event. Some people pick a Monday; others prefer a weekend when routines are looser. In Burlington, the change of seasons can help too: a spring start lets you swap smoke breaks for walks by the lake.
Step 4: Decide what kind of help you want
Read through the listings for the Burlington area and sort them into three groups:
- Individual coaches who meet with you regularly.
- Consulting hypnotists who offer sessions aimed at stopping smoking or vaping.
- Group programs on a fixed schedule.
Ask yourself which you would really stick with. If evenings are packed, a daytime video session might suit you better than a group across town.
Step 5: Contact two or three providers
Use the same questions with each one:
1. What happens in a session, and how long is it? 2. How many sessions do you usually suggest? 3. Do you work with vaping as well as cigarettes? 4. In person, by video, or both? Where do you meet? 5. What is the full cost, and what is your rescheduling rule? 6. Is there any contact between sessions?
Write the answers down. Choose the provider whose explanation you understood clearly and whose schedule you can keep.
Step 6: Prepare your space and your people
In the days before your start date, clear out lighters, ashtrays and spare vapes from your home, car and bag. Tell a few people what you are doing and how they can help. Plan a replacement for each of the three hard moments you circled in Step 1, such as a short walk, a glass of water or a call to a friend.
Step 7: Start, and keep a simple log
On your start date, keep a notebook or phone note. Each day, write down any urges, what you did instead, and how the day went. Bring the log to your sessions so your provider can help you adjust the plan.
Step 8: Plan for slips
Most people have a hard day at some point. If you smoke or vape after your start date, write down what led to it and talk it over at your next session. One slip is information to use, not a reason to give the whole plan away.
Step 9: Review after a month
After four weeks, read through your log. Which replacement routines stuck? Which moments are still tough? Decide with your provider whether to keep the same schedule, meet less often, or try something different.