An official website of the United States government
National Texting Portal
Helping People who Smoke to Quit
*Message and data rates may apply.
The National Texting Portal connects adults (18 years of age and older) in the United States with mobile text message-based support to help them quit smoking. The texting portal connects people to state resources or routes them to national text messaging services if text messaging services are not available in their state. The text messaging services offer evidence-based support, including encouragement, advice and tips for becoming smokefree, and being healthier. The portal is available in English and in Spanish.
The National Texting Portal is a system built in collaboration by CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). The system connects people who smoke with free* state or national (NCI’s SmokefreeTXT) text messaging cessation services to help people who smoke to quit. These mobile text messaging services offer evidence-based support including encouragement, advice and tips for becoming smokefree and being healthier. They are designed for people in the United States who are ready to quit smoking.
*Your mobile plan’s message and data rates may apply. Check with your mobile service provider before enrolling.
You will get connected to free state or national text messaging services to help you quit smoking. Once you sign up for text messaging services, you will receive messages of encouragement, advice and tips for becoming smokefree and being healthier.
You will be asked to provide your zip code and preferred language (English or Spanish). You are asked these questions so you can be routed to appropriate services.
If the zip code you enter is in a state that offers text messaging services, you will receive a web link that will allow you to enroll in your state’s text message cessation services, as well as potentially other types of cessation assistance available in your state;
OR
If the zip code you entered is in a state that does not offer text messaging services, you will be routed to NCI’s SmokefreeTXT program.
Most state and national text messaging services ask you for your zip code, your preferred language (English or Spanish), mobile phone number, age, gender, and how often you smoke. This information is used to enroll you in a texting service and to personalize your experience. The texting service will also ask you to pick a quit date that is usually within two weeks of enrollment.
No information is used for commercial purposes.
Accessing the portal and signing up for the text messaging cessation services it connects you to is free. However, your mobile plan’s message and data rates may apply. If you pay for individual text messages, you will be responsible for paying for the messages. If you aren’t sure if you pay for individual texts, check with your mobile service provider before signing up.