The free nicotine patch offer has ended -- but help is still available.

Your military training taught you the importance of planning and teamwork. Quitting cigarettes is no different.

Combine support and medication like the nicotine patch, and you're three times more likely to quit for good than if you tried to go cold turkey.

Plan your next step.

Arm yourself with knowledge.

• Download the five steps to quitting smoking.
• You can order a free quit-smoking booklet to give you extra information.

If you need nicotine patches, you may be able to get them for free or for less cost through your health insurance plan. Your health insurance may cover other stop-smoking medicines and counseling, too. MassHealth does.

• Read about quit-smoking benefits offered by private health insurance plans and public health insurance plans.
• TRICARE does not currently cover FDA-approved quit-smoking medicines.
• To learn what your specific plan offers, you should call the phone number on your health plan card.

Your doctor can also help. Talk with your doctor, nurse, or other health care professional about quitting smoking. Ask:

• How will quitting help your health?
• Is there a different medicine that you should try?
• What kind of support would be best?

Special stop-smoking support for veterans

In person: Each VA hospital has its own quit-smoking support groups and many offer one-on-one counseling. To learn more, contact the quit-smoking coordinator at your nearest VA hospital:

• Bedford: Megan Kelly, (781) 687-3317
• Brockton: Dana Boardman, (774) 826-2134
• Jamaica Plain: Dr. Amy Silberbogen, (857) 364-4418
• Northampton: Janice Muldrew, (413) 584-4040, ext. 2825
• West Roxbury: Carolyn Foland, (857) 364-4418

Online: FREE online coaching for veterans and their families is available 24 hours a day at http://www.ucanquit2.org

Over the phone: TRICARE members can receive stop-smoking support 24 hours a day by calling, toll-free, 1-866-459-8766.

This information is provided by a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services.

The free nicotine patch program for veterans ended on June 30, 2011.