Joel Spitzer has provided smoking cessation and prevention services since 1972, first as a volunteer speaker and then a member of the professional staff of the American Cancer Society. Later he served as smoking programs coordinator for the Rush North Shore Medical Center's Good Health Program, and then as a consultant for the Skokie Illinois Health Department and the Evanston Department of Health and Human Services, providing state funded smoking cessation clinics and seminars for the two Chicago suburban communities. Here at WhyQuit, Joel has served as education director since June 2000.
Joel's Library is home to:
- Joel's Reinforcement Articles - More than 100 short quit smoking articles in HTML format
- "Never Take Another Puff" - Joel's above collection of reinforcement articles are available as a free PDF ebook or in Kindle / MobiPocket reader format.
- Joel's Daily Quitting Lesson Guide - This guide suggests daily video and reading lessons for specific days during the first two weeks of quitting smoking.
- YouTube Featured Video Playlists - Doorway to all Joel Spitzer YouTube stop smoking videos.
- Joel's Video Quit Smoking Lessons - 170+ short stop smoking movie clips in which Joel shares important nicotine dependency recovery insights.
Use Costs - Addiction - Quitting Methods - Use Rationalizations - How to Quit
Recovery - Pitfalls - Symptoms - Relapse Prevention - Helping Others
- Joel's MP3 Audio Counseling Download - An extremely large zipped file (264MB) containing Joel's original 64 audio lessons, that can be loaded into an MP3 player and listened to anywhere.
- Joel's Jukebox - A fast and easy to use MP3 audio player for listening to Joel's original 64 stop smoking lessons.
- Ask Joel - If not already asked and answered, submit your quit smoking question to Joel.
- Index to Joel's Freedom Articles - Since January 2000, Joel has remained active in educating and supporting new quitters at Freedom, WhyQuit's support group. This index provides links to Joel's primary message board threads and posts.
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Joel's Reinforcement Articles
Why Do People Smoke? - 16 articles
The Costs - 18 articles
How to Quit - 35 articles
Relapse Prevention - 24 articles
What About Weight Gain? - 4 articles
Teen Smoking Prevention - 5 articles
Smoking: A Historical Perspective - 4 articles
"Never Take Another Puff"
Discover why more than Four Million copies of Joel's free book "Never Take Another Puff" were downloaded between August 1, 2005 and July 7, 2012. While we cannot promise that if you read Joel's book that you'll succeed in quitting smoking, we can promise that you'll learn how. Give "Never Take Another Puff" one complete cover-to-cover read. Arm yourself with the power of knowledge.
Link to 2003 PDF Edition - Download the original online version of Joel's free 149 page quit smoking book in PDF format (1.35MB), containing 97 short quitting articles. Once opened, be sure to click the "save" icon (the first icon on the far left) and save a copy to your computer. You'll then be able to search, print and e-mail "Never Take Another Puff" to friends, family members and co-workers who are smoke, chew or dip nicotine.
Link to 2006 PDF Edition - This link is to the latest edition of "Never Take Another Puff." It is a bit larger file (1.5MB), with 63 additional pages (212 total) but only four additional articles related to: (1) setting quitting dates, (2) alcohol use and alcoholism, (3) who to believe regarding quitting methods, and (4) why the decline in smoking is grinding to near standstill. If you have already printed the 2003 version, we recommened that you print the four additional articles and place them at the end of Chapter 3.
Link to Kindle - MobiPocket Version - Read Never Take Another Puff on your Kindle or MobiPocket or enjoy the Kindle book format on your computer by downloading the free Kindle for PC program.
Daily Quitting Lesson Guide
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Joel's Video Quit Smoking Lessons
Imagine having your very own stop smoking coach, one of the world's best. More than 4 Million of Joel's free videos had been watched as of April 24, 2013. Collectively, they capture nearly all lessons that were presented by Joel during his 13-day, 12 hour clinic program.
You can either sequence through Joel's video lessons using the Daily Quitting Lesson Guide immediately above, by using YouTube's Featured Playlist, or by selecting individual lessons from the complete list of video and audio lessons below. Watch as many as possible. Discover what happens once we become more dependency recovery savvy than our addiction is strong!
The below lessons are presented in four formats: YouTube - extremely quick opening video clips hosted by YouTube; Dial-Up - as smaller video files for those with slower dial-up Internet connections; HS/BB - as larger higher quality videos for those with high speed or broadband Internet access; and MP3 - as audio files for use on MP3 players. All files except for YouTube videos will play on Windows Media Player. You can click on this icon to download a Windows Media Player.
Video Title | You Tube | Dial-Up | HS/BB | MP3 | Length | Added |
| Introduction | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Joel's stop smoking video library | UTube | 1.13mb | 10.8mb | 1.83mb | 10:05 | 03/28/12 |
| How to best utilize videos | UTube | None | None | None | 06:17 | 03/29/12 |
| Using these videos to quit smoking | UTube | 4.02mb | 12.0mb | 5.04mb | 11:07 | 11/21/06 |
| Smoking's Costs | ||||||
| Money wasted on cigarettes | UTube | 1.93mb | 6.19mb | 2.72mb | 06:03 | 10/18/06 |
| Closet smokers | UTube | 05:45 | 08/16/12 | |||
| The Palmolive bottle demonstration | UTube | 2.84mb | 19.1mb | 3.55mb | 07:45 | 10/11/06 |
| Learning how to inhale | UTube | 1.70mb | 16.8mb | 2.10mb | 04:38 | 10/02/06 |
| "I don't want to see any scary pictures" | UTube | 09:43 | 08/24/12 | |||
| Heart and circulatory diseases | UTube | 2.81mb | 5.93mb | 8.82mb | 19:18 | 11/03/06 |
| Lung cancer | UTube | 3.04mb | 6.55mb | 8.58mb | 18:48 | 11/05/06 |
| How smoking destroys the lungs | UTube | 1.55mb | 4.59mb | 1.87mb | 04:13 | 11/27/06 |
| Feel what it is like to breathe with emphysema | UTube | 08:47 | 10/30/11 | |||
| Kids just don't get it | UTube | 11:47 | 08/07/11 | |||
| Premature deaths caused by smoking | UTube | 1.84mb | 3.62mb | 5.72mb | 12:33 | 11/06/06 |
| Addiction to Nicotine | ||||||
| You smoke because you're a smokeaholic | UTube | 03:41 | 09/13/12 | |||
| Why do smokers smoke? | UTube | 2.65mb | 5.70mb | 8.31mb | 18:08 | 11/07/06 |
| Addiction - the Surgeon General says ... | UTube | 4.42mb | 13.2mb | 5.49mb | 12:00 | 10/09/06 |
| Criteria of addiction | UTube | 4.09mb | 12.2mb | 5.09mb | 11:06 | 10/09/06 |
| "Maybe a puff isn't that big of a deal" | UTube | 06:23 | 08/22/12 | |||
| "Don't let a slip put you back to using"? | UTube | 08:11 | 08/09/12 | |||
| Past "successful" quits | UTube | 03:47 | 06/11/13 | |||
| The lucky ones get hooked | UTube | 09:35 | 11/30/11 | |||
| "Get right back in the saddle?" | UTube | 04:53 | 10/07/12 | |||
| "I don't need to smoke" | UTube | 3.86mb | 11.5mb | 4.75mb | 10:29 | 11/09/06 |
| "What should I call myself?" | UTube | 07:54 | 08/04/12 | |||
| Are there social smokers? | UTube | 15:56 | 10/29/11 | |||
| "Why did I ever start smoking?" | UTube | 08:19 | 09/27/11 | |||
| "Why did I ever start smoking?" (old version) | UTube | 1.23mb | 12.1mb | 1.54mb | 03:22 | 09/27/06 |
| Oral tobacco usage and addiction | UTube | 11:11 | 05/26/13 | |||
| People in recovery from other addictions | UTube | 3.24mb | 9.68mb | 4.00mb | 08:50 | 11/20/06 |
| Quit Smoking Methods, Products and Programs | ||||||
| Who should you believe? | UTube | 01:49 | 09/11/12 | |||
| Is cold turkey the only way to quit smoking? | UTube | 08:40 | 08/12/12 | |||
| Cold turkey quitting defined | UTube | 15:52 | 03/01/12 | |||
| How did the people you know quit smoking? | UTube | 1.90mb | 18.8mb | 2.34mb | 05:10 | 09/27/06 |
| "I liked my other clinic more" | UTube | 07:51 | 08/25/12 | |||
| What programs do I recommend? | UTube | 07:10 | 11/09/12 | |||
| Being locked up to quit smoking | UTube | 06:31 | 01/06/11 | |||
| "Am I doomed to fail if I don't get professional help?" | UTube | 06:47 | 01/06/11 | |||
| Quitting by gradual withdrawal | UTube | 2.35mb | 7.54mb | 3.25mb | 07:13 | 10/18/06 |
| My first encounter with NRT | UTube | 3.99mb | 16.1mb | 6.66mb | 14:37 | 11/16/06 |
| Be prepared for confusing information | UTube | 07:28 | 10/04/12 | |||
| Candid views about Chantix and Champix | UTube | 17.8mb | 53.3mb | 22.0mb | 48:16 | 10/19/07 |
| Our views on the need for harm reduction | UTube | 06:31 | 10/05/12 | |||
| E-cigarettes and harm reduction | UTube | 29:45 | 09/18/11 | |||
| First television ads for e-cigarettes | UTube | 06:02 | 11/06/12 | |||
| Use Rationalizations | ||||||
| "I know I will quit again" | UTube | 11:13 | 09/28/12 | |||
| "Smoking benefits?" | UTube | 03:40 | 09/20/12 | |||
| Fear of quitting smoking | UTube | 4.09mb | 12.3mb | 5.04mb | 11:08 | 11/11/06 |
| "I will quit when ..." | UTube | 05:44 | 08/06/11 | |||
| "I don't want to quit smoking" | UTube | 6.52mb | 19.5mb | 8.09mb | 17:40 | 10/11/06 |
| "I smoke because I like smoking" | UTube | 09:42 | 10/29/11 | |||
| "I'm not buying cigarettes" | UTube | 03:29 | 10/11/11 | |||
| "I'll smoke anywhere I want" | UTube | 2.74mb | 8.74mb | 3.94mb | 08:44 | 10/18/06 |
| "I can't drink alcohol without a cigarette" | UTube | 1.36mb | 13.4mb | 1.67mb | 03:43 | 09/27/06 |
| "I'm safe from smoking because of my genetics?" | UTube | 3.45mb | 10.3mb | 4.26mb | 09:24 | 11/24/06 |
| "I can't quit or I won't quit"? | UTube | 6.33mb | 28.6mb | 10.15mb | 22:15 | 10/16/06 |
| "I can't quit smoking because I'm addicted" | UTube | 09:05 | 08/16/12 | |||
| "I'll be a nervous wreck forever if I quit smoking" | UTube | 3.87mb | 11.6mb | 4.77mb | 10:30 | 11/29/06 |
| "I have to smoke when I talk on the phone" | UTube | 2.77mb | 27.6mb | 3.43mb | 07:30 | 09/27/06 |
| "I'll never be as productive again if I quit smoking" | UTube | 2.95mb | 08.8mb | 63.mb | 08:01 | 11/24/06 |
| Using to self medicate pre-existing conditions | UTube | 06:02 | 08/29/11 | |||
| Amount smoked | UTube | 08:50 | 08/04/12 | |||
| "I know I am going to gain weight if I quit smoking!" | UTube | 4.82mb | 14.4mb | 5.94mb | 13:05 | 11/28/06 |
| "I'm not joining this clinic" | UTube | 4.62mb | 13.8mb | 5.73mb | 12:33 | 09/27/06 |
| Waiting to bottom out | UTube | 05:18 | 09/07/12 | |||
| Quitting is more doable than most people think | UTube | 01:43 | 09/09/12 | |||
| How to Stop | ||||||
| How to quit smoking | UTube | 13:47 | 09/15/12 | |||
| The Law of Addiction | UTube | 11:19 | 08/06/12 | |||
| Cold turkey quitting | UTube | 05:04 | 12/26/12 | |||
| One day at a time | UTube | 03:45 | 08/15/12 | |||
| Make a list of why you want to quit smoking | UTube | 2.26mb | 6.76mb | 2.77mb | 06:09 | 11/22/06 |
| Quitting often results in healthier looking skin | UTube | 03:53 | 09/27/12 | |||
| Smoking triggers | UTube | 07:43 | 08/09/12 | |||
| Avoid blood sugar symptoms | UTube | 2.03mb | 20.1mb | 2.51mb | 05:31 | 09/28/06 |
| Possible changes in caffeine tolerance | UTube | 05:11 | 09/24/12 | |||
| Carrying cigarettes | UTube | 1.85mb | 5.70mb | 3.02mb | 06:39 | 10/17/06 |
| Acknowledge the negative, dwell on the positive | UTube | 13:09 | 08/27/12 | |||
| Telling others that you have quit smoking | UTube | 2.53mb | 7.58mb | 4.07mb | 08:57 | 10/17/06 |
| The Recovery Process | ||||||
| Starting day one of your quit - (links = daily lessons) | UTube | 3.28mb | 5.84mb | 4.09mb | 09:02 | 11/21/06 |
| Starting day two of your quit | UTube | 1.82mb | 5.39mb | 2.33mb | 05:10 | 11/21/06 |
| Starting day three of your quit | UTube | 1.37mb | 4.03mb | 1.62mb | 03:57 | 11/21/06 |
| Starting day four of your quit | UTube | 3.58mb | 10.66mb | 4.52mb | 09:58 | 11/22/06 |
| Starting day five of your quit | UTube | 1.77mb | 5.26mb | 2.18mb | 04:50 | 11/23/06 |
| Starting day six of your quit | UTube | 3.63mb | 10.82mb | 4.53mb | 09:59 | 11/24/06 |
| Starting week two of your quit | UTube | 3.19mb | 9.54mb | 3.93mb | 08:40 | 11/26/06 |
| Getting on with the rest of your life | UTube | 3.39mb | 10.1mb | 4.22mb | 09:21 | 11/27/06 |
| Videos addressing weekend issues | UTube | 02:38 | 06/13/13 | |||
| What is withdrawal really like? | UTube | 06:48 | 10/29/12 | |||
| Going back to normal after quitting smoking | UTube | 10:08 | 10/24/11 | |||
| "I feel 100% better since I quit smoking" | UTube | 08:40 | 08/23/12 | |||
| The first Monday morning | UTube | 03:21 | 09/21/12 | |||
| Predestined bad days | UTube | 05:15 | 12/01/11 | |||
| Dreams of smoking | UTube | 2.38mb | 7.10mb | 2.92mb | 06:28 | 11/10/06 |
| The emotional stages of loss | UTube | 3.05mb | 30.4mb | 3.78mb | 08:18 | 09/28/06 |
| New reactions to anger | UTube | 09:15 | 08/09/12 | |||
| Does everything smell and taste better after you quit smoking? | UTube | 04:36 | 08/16/12 | |||
| "How long before I don't want a cigarette?" | UTube | 05:25 | 08/14/12 | |||
| Difference between physical and psychological urges | UTube | 10:00 | 10/08/12 | |||
| "Will I ever stop thinking of cigarettes?" | UTube | 3.97mb | 11.9mb | 4.89mb | 10:47 | 11/20/06 |
| Comparing quits with others | UTube | 09:54 | 01/06/11 | |||
| Unexpected benefit after quitting | UTube | 07:45 | 10/12/11 | |||
| Incorporating exercise after quitting | UTube | 03:55 | 09/21/12 | |||
| Weight control concerns after quitting smoking | UTube | 9.13mb | 21.9mb | 20.07mb | 43:56 | 11/14/06 |
| Change of season triggers | UTube | 04:23 | 09/21/12 | |||
| Holidays that result in three day weekends | UTube | 09:29 | 08/31/12 | |||
| Quitting may lead to other self-improvements | UTube | 1.13mb | 11.2mb | 1.40mb | 03:07 | 10/02/06 |
| Common Recovery Pitfalls | ||||||
| Setting quit dates | UTube | 10:53 | 08/30/12 | |||
| "I want one!" | UTube | 1.01mb | 5.36mb | 2.48mb | 05:33 | 10/18/06 |
| Just think of something else? | UTube | 01:59 | 09/12/12 | |||
| Quitting for others | UTube | 05:46 | 11/05/11 | |||
| "Should I find a quit smoking buddy?" | UTube | 07:46 | 01/06/11 | |||
| "I've got my smoking under control" | UTube | 06:01 | 10/06/12 | |||
| Crutches to quit smoking | UTube | 16:47 | 11/27/11 | |||
| "What bad habit should I replace it with?" | UTube | 1.86mb | 18.4mb | 2.30mb | 05:04 | 10/02/06 |
| "I gave up smoking" | UTube | 02:05 | 10/10/12 | |||
| "I'm trying to quit smoking" | UTube | 03:00 | 06/11/13 | |||
| "No thank you, I can't have a cigarette" | UTube | 03:55 | 10/10/12 | |||
| Offers for cigarettes | UTube | 06:34 | 08/03/12 | |||
| Finding cigarettes | UTube | 05:17 | 08/03/12 | |||
| Talking to others about not smoking | UTube | 5.60mb | 16.8mb | 6.92mb | 15:13 | 11/19/06 |
| "I know I will quit smoking!" | UTube | 2.37mb | 23.5mb | 2.98mb | 06:30 | 09/29/06 |
| Getting colds and flus after quitting | UTube | 1.46mb | 11.1mb | 4.57mb | 10:04 | 11/18/06 |
| Avoiding situations where you used to smoke | UTube | 4.67mb | 13.9mb | 5.75mb | 12:39 | 11/29/06 |
| Cigars and relapsing | UTube | 06:51 | 05/26/13 | |||
| Dealing with people who try to undercut your quit | UTube | 6.52mb | 19.5mb | 8.05mb | 17:42 | 11/12/06 |
| Recovery Symptoms | ||||||
| "Is anyone else experiencing the symptom ...?" | UTube | 07:40 | 09/07/12 | |||
| "Is this a symptom of quitting smoking?" | UTube | 1.91mb | 18.9mb | 2.36mb | 05:13 | 09/27/06 |
| "Is this a symptom of quitting smoking?" [Part 2] | UTube | 11:33 | 07/22/11 | |||
| Common symptoms | UTube | 2.18mb | 21.6mb | 2.69mb | 05:55 | 09/28/06 |
| Quitting smoking and mental health | UTube | 03:59 | 06/13/13 | |||
| Why many people cough more after quitting | UTube | 06:38 | 11/26/12 | |||
| Does smoking cause my headaches? | UTube | 2.69mb | 07.4mb | 3.95mb | 08:32 | 03/21/07 |
| Relapse Prevention and Complacency | ||||||
| Never Take Another Puff | UTube | 04:23 | 10/12/12 | |||
| "I'm mad that I can't smoke anymore!" | UTube | 08:01 | 10/02/12 | |||
| If this is your first time quitting | UTube | 01:39 | 19/10/12 | |||
| Is relapse a natural part of the quitting process? | UTube | 13:14 | 11/29/11 | |||
| Can second hand smoke cause relapse? | UTube | 09:50 | 08/28/12 | |||
| Neither side is perfect | UTube | 02:23 | 10/01/12 | |||
| "Got through New Years! Boy, I deserve a cigarette!" | UTube | 06:32 | 01/01/12 | |||
| Terrible 3s | UTube | 07:52 | 10/15/11 | |||
| Short funny story | UTube | 04:05 | 10/14/11 | |||
| Be prepared for holiday triggers | UTube | 11:02 | 11/24/11 | |||
| Election day: an important choice today | UTube | 02:08 | 11/06/12 | |||
| Life goes on without smoking | UTube | 08:12 | 12/15/11 | |||
| Watching others smoke | UTube | 09:33 | 10/13/11 | |||
| Who wants to go back to smoking? | UTube | 2.61mb | 25.9mb | 3.22mb | 07:05 | 09/28/06 |
| "I don't feel any better since I quit smoking!" | UTube | 3.18mb | 31.6mb | 3.94mb | 08:39 | 09/28/06 |
| "I'll come for reinforcement when I need it" | UTube | 3.83mb | 11.5mb | 4.73mb | 10:24 | 11/08/06 |
| "I am climbing the walls because I quit smoking" | UTube | 2.69mb | 8.59mb | 3.78mb | 08:23 | 10/18/06 |
| What is your quit smoking mantra? | UTube | 8.60mb | 14.0mb | 5.79mb | 12:47 | 11/17/06 |
| "If I relapse I'll smoke until it kills me" | UTube | 1.58mb | 04.4mb | 2.37mb | 05:11 | 02/25/07 |
| Longer-term quitters who say they are having "Bad Days" | UTube | 08:07 | 08/13/12 | |||
| The only time I think of smoking is when I get one of your stupid letters | UTube | 3.16mb | 09.5mb | 3.87mb | 08:36 | 11/27/06 |
| An important choice must be made today | UTube | 02:06 | 11/06/12 | |||
| Complacency | UTube | 05:23 | 08/14/12 | |||
| Helping Others Quit | ||||||
| Helping others quit | UTube | 10:22 | 08/06/12 | |||
| No one understands | UTube | 12:58 | 08/16/12 | |||
| Videos Specific to Our Support Group Freedom | ||||||
| Are you ready for Freedom? | UTube | 12:07 | 01/19/11 | |||
| Why Freedom is a cold turkey site | UTube | 09:10 | 01/08/11 | |||
| Teaching of conventional wisdom | UTube | 08:45 | 08/29/12 | |||
| Why Freedom discourages "buddy systems" | UTube | 05:07 | 01/06/11 | |||
| Quit site euphemisms that we discourage the use of at Freedom | UTube | 06:31 | 09/05/12 | |||
| Reading at other quit sites | UTube | 04:01 | 09/13/12 | |||
| Sharing our materials at other quit sites | UTube | 03:36 | 09/13/12 | |||
| New Year's message for newer members and readers | UTube | 10:32 | 12/31/10 | |||
| New Year's message for longer term members | UTube | 03:51 | 12/31/10 | |||
| Freedom's Quarterly Stats | UTube | 03:40 | 12/30/10 | |||
| About my work and materials | ||||||
| How I started running quit smoking clinics | UTube | 3.87mb | 38.6mb | 4.80mb | 10:32 | 09/28/06 |
| Why my resources are free | UTube | 05:09 | 08/06/12 | |||
| A smoking cessation expert? | UTube | 15:27 | 03/30/12 | |||
| Where is Joel? | UTube | 04:11 | 03/01/12 | |||
| Comments made to Joel's YouTube channel | UTube | 06:39 | 04/13/12 | |||
| Two hundred thousandth video view on YouTube | UTube | 05:34 | 09/25/12 | |||
| New stop smoking materials and resources | UTube | 04:57 | 12/30/12 | |||
Sincere thanks to Nelson A. (Skip) Coash for converting .wmv files to .mp3 format in late 2007.
Joel's MP3 Audio Counseling Download
The link below requires high speed Internet access as it allows one-step downloading of a large 264MB zipped file containing Joel's original 64 audio quitting lessons, 11 hours of listening. Depending on your Internet connection speed, the download time may take from 30 to 60 minutes. All you need to do is download the file, unzip it and load the individual (unzipped) files into your MP3 player. Our thanks to David King, who at 42 days into his own recovery created this zipped file in December 2009.
Joel's Jukebox
This link to Joel's Jukebox takes you to an extremly fast online MP3 audio player that allows for
easy listening of Joel's audio stop smoking lessons. Our thanks to HWC for building this page.
Ask Joel
Ask Joel is a forum that indexes quit smoking questions that have previously been asked and answered by Joel, or questions related to ending chemical dependence upon smokeless tobacco (snuff, dip, snus or chewing tobacco) or upon NRT (the nicotine gum, lozenge, inhaler, spray or patch). If previously unasked, or unusual, your question and Joel's response may be posted to the Ask Joel messageboards so others might benefit. Take a look at previously asked questions to see if yours has already been answered. If not, e-mail it to AskJoel@WhyQuit.com. Please use language suitable for youth. Thank you.
