What we treat
Quitting nicotine during treatment
Nobody arrives at a detox center to quit smoking. But a lot of people, once the first few days are behind them, decide they are done with that too — and it is worth having a real answer ready when they do.
There is medication for it, there is 12-step support for it, and there is a sensible order to do things in. What there is not, here, is a standalone stop-smoking clinic.
The two things that actually help
NIDA lists seven FDA-approved medications — nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, nasal spray and inhaler, plus bupropion and varenicline — and finds that people who combine a medication with behavioral support quit at higher rates than those who get minimal help.
The second thing is the part people here often already have: a fellowship and a set of steps that worked on something harder. Nicotine Anonymous applies the same twelve steps to nicotine specifically, and our own step worksheets and 12-step guides work for it unchanged.
When to raise it
At the assessment, even if the answer is "not yet." Stopping nicotine in the middle of alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal is a lot to carry at once, and there is no prize for doing both in the same week. What matters is that it is on the plan rather than a private decision made at a bad moment. What comes after detox is usually where it lands.
Common questions
Can I quit smoking while I am in detox?+
Many people do, and it is a reasonable thing to ask about at assessment rather than a distraction from the main event. Some prefer to stabilize first and address nicotine a few weeks in; both are legitimate and it is your call, not a policy.
What medications help?+
There are seven FDA-approved options: nicotine replacement in five forms — patch, gum, lozenge, nasal spray and inhaler — plus bupropion and varenicline, which are tablets rather than nicotine.
Does the 12-step approach work for nicotine?+
It does for some people, and it is the same mechanism that works for them elsewhere — a fellowship, a sponsor and a set of steps applied to the substance in question. Nicotine Anonymous exists specifically for this and runs its own meetings.
Do you run a standalone stop-smoking program?+
No, and we would rather say so than sell you one. Briarwood is a medical detox provider; nicotine cessation here is support for people already in treatment for something else, coordinated with medication and with whatever follows detox.
Are nicotine-free vapes a safer way to quit?+
They remove the nicotine, which is the addictive part, but not the inhalation or the habit — and the flavoring and solvent ingredients are not inert. They are not one of the seven treatments with evidence behind them.
If nicotine is the only thing on the list
Then we are probably not your first call, and we will say so. If it sits alongside alcohol or another drug, that is a conversation worth having — free, confidential, 24 hours a day.
Call (866) 710-7710