Updates on the National Portal

Over the past several months, NAQC has fielded concerns from states about the status of national cessation infrastructure. As far as NAQC staff is aware, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) does not plan to change or discontinue 800-QUIT-NOW or 855‑DEJELO‑YA, which are expected to remain active for the foreseeable future. However, NCI is reportedly considering phasing out the national texting portal (333888) due to low engagement outside of advertising campaigns. The texting portal currently routes users to their state quitline or to Smokefree.gov’s texting program, but as staff managing it are furloughed during the federal government shutdown, no final decision or timeline has been announced.

In the meantime, users can still access quit‑smoking resources via Smokefree.gov or by texting QUIT to 47848. For states without a quitline provider, 800‑QUIT‑NOW calls are currently ending with a closed message, as NCI’s safety‑net service (funded by CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health) was only intended for temporary gaps, such as vendor transitions or budget shortfalls. Smokefree.gov web programs have also been consolidated to more efficiently manage resources. States should review any direct links to smokefree.gov to ensure accuracy and currency.

NAQC staff will continue monitoring developments and share any updates with the community as they become available. In the meantime, you can explore the latest quitline data and trend reports posted here.