Getting started
This guide lays out a simple sequence for anyone in Lubbock who wants to stop smoking or vaping with help from a coach, a consulting hypnotist or a group program. Take the steps at your own pace.
Step 1: Note where you smoke or vape now
For a few days, jot down when and where you light up or reach for a vape. Mornings in the car? Breaks at work? Evenings on the porch? This short log shows which parts of your day you will want a plan for, and it gives a provider something real to work with.
Step 2: Learn the rules where you spend your day
If you are connected to one of Lubbock's large campuses, read its policy. Texas Tech University's OP 60.15, cited below, bars cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in its academic, administrative and athletic facilities, makes student housing buildings nonsmoking including individual rooms, and requires smoking areas to be 25 feet from facilities, entrances and public places. The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center's HSC OP 10.19 goes further and prohibits tobacco use or vaping anywhere on the grounds of its facilities, including leased space.
Off campus, rules depend on the city. The state health department notes that only 99 of Texas's 1,220 municipalities have ordinances the University of Houston evaluates as fully smokefree. Check what applies at your own workplace.
Step 3: Decide what kind of help suits you
Think about how you like to work through change. Some people want a coach to check in with them one-on-one. Some are curious about sessions with a consulting hypnotist. Others like the company of a group that meets on a schedule. There is no wrong choice. Pick the format you are most likely to keep showing up for.
Step 4: Find two or three providers
Use this directory to find independent providers serving Lubbock. We introduce you to them; we do not run programs or check anyone's background. For each, note whether they meet in person, by video, or both, and what days they are available.
Step 5: Ask clear questions
Contact each provider and ask how their process runs from start to finish, how many meetings are typical, and whether they work with people who vape. Ask about fees and whether anything is due before the first session. Ask what happens if you slip. Be cautious with anyone who makes promises about how it will go for you; nobody can know that in advance.
Step 6: Pick a start date
Choose a date in the next two or three weeks that is not in the middle of finals, a big work deadline or a family event. Tell your provider and one supportive person. Clear lighters, ashtrays or vape supplies out of your car, desk and bag the night before.
Step 7: Plan for the hard moments
Look back at your log from Step 1. For each tricky time, write down one thing you will do instead: a walk across campus, a glass of water, a call to a friend, chewing on a straw. Keep the list on your phone. If you work on a campus where tobacco and vaping are banned on the grounds, you may find the rules themselves help, since stepping outside no longer means a smoke break.
Step 8: Keep your appointments
Think of every session as a fixed commitment. If something comes up, reschedule rather than skip. If you are driving across Lubbock to an office, give yourself a cushion; drive times are approximate and change with traffic.
Step 9: Keep your environment working for you
Small changes around you can make the plan easier to follow. Ask the people you live with not to smoke or vape in the car or the house for the first few weeks. If coworkers take smoke breaks together, plan a different break routine, such as a short walk or a coffee run with someone who does not smoke. Notice which places in town make you want to light up, and give yourself a different route for a while.
Step 10: Review after a month
After four weeks, look at how it is going with your provider. What has helped? Where are you still struggling? Adjust the plan, the frequency of meetings, or the format. If the fit is not right, try another provider from the directory.