How this guide is organized
These steps are for anyone in Missoula who has decided to stop smoking or vaping and wants to choose a provider with some care. They describe a process for choosing, not a promise about how things will go.
Step 1: Map a typical day
For three or four days, jot down each time you smoke or vape: where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing just before. Patterns tend to show up fast. Morning coffee, the drive home, a break between classes or a night out can each turn into a separate part of your plan.
Step 2: Mark the places that are already off-limits
Compare your list with the rules that already apply. Montana's Clean Indoor Air Act, passed in 2005, prohibits smoking, including e-cigarettes, in enclosed public places. Missoula's Ordinance 3604, adopted in 2018, adds outdoor limits: no smoking on, in or within 25 feet of city-owned or city-managed playgrounds, youth sports fields in use, aquatic facilities, Silver's Lagoon in McCormick Park, the Bancroft/34th Street Duck Ponds, and structures such as picnic shelters and bleachers. If you study or hold a job at the University of Montana, its Tobacco Free UM Policy procedure applies to everyone on University property.
Circle the moments on your list that already happen in those places. You have fewer decisions to make there.
Step 3: Choose the kind of help you want
Decide whether you would rather meet with a coach one on one, see a consulting hypnotist, or join a group. Think about privacy, schedule and how much contact you want between sessions. You can also combine formats, such as a group with an occasional individual check-in.
Step 4: Set your practical limits
Write down which evenings or mornings you are free, whether you want video or in-person sessions, and how much you can spend. If you live in Lolo, Frenchtown or the Bitterroot and drive in, a video option may matter more to you than location.
Step 5: Shortlist two or three providers
Use the listings on this page. For each provider, note the format, the location or video option, available times and how the program is laid out. The directory does not review providers, so rely on what you learn by asking.
Step 6: Ask the same questions of each
- What happens in the first session, and how long is it?
- How many sessions do you usually suggest?
- Do you talk with clients about vaping as well as cigarettes?
- What are your fees, and what is your policy on refunds and rescheduling?
- How do you stay in touch between sessions, if at all?
Write the answers down so you can compare them without relying on memory.
Step 7: Check with your own doctor if needed
If you take medicine for any condition, are pregnant, or are thinking about nicotine products, bring those questions to your own doctor or pharmacist. Providers on this page are not the people to advise you on that.
Step 8: Pick a date and tell someone
Choose a start date that is not in the middle of finals, a move or a big deadline. Tell one or two people you trust, and ask them to check in during the first week. Clear out lighters, ashtrays and vape cartridges from the car and the house the night before.
Step 9: Plan for hard moments
Look back at the patterns from Step 1 and decide what you will do instead at each one. Swap the smoke break for a short walk along the river, take a different route home, or keep your hands busy with something else. Lean on the places where smoking is already barred; a picnic shelter at a city park or a walk across campus can be stretches where the choice is already made.
Step 10: Review after a few weeks
After two or three weeks, look at how your days have changed and talk with your provider about what to adjust. If a format is not a good fit, it is fine to switch to another provider or approach. Many people try more than one path before settling on the one that suits them.