
FAQ
Answers to the most frequently asked questions
You can register in one of 2 ways:
On smat.ca:
- First, go to the registration page.
- Then complete the form, taking care to provide your cell phone number, and click on "Confirm".
- Read and agree to the Terms of Use.
- 10 minutes or so later, you will receive a text message from SMAT. You must then text the word "OK" to confirm your registration.
By text message
- Text the keyword "SMAT" to 20202 and follow the instructions.
- We will send you a password allowing you to access your personal profile on smat.ca. You will also be able to change your quit date, decide when you want to receive text messages, and select other service personalization options.
No, SMAT is a free service. However, standard text messaging charges apply, so be sure to check your cell phone plan for details.
SMAT is offered through the Quebec Division of the Canadian Cancer Society. The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is a non-profit organization. For further information on the CCS, visit our Website.
Answers to the questions related to text messages.
Keywords allow you to receive additional tips that meet your specific needs. When you text a keyword to SMAT, you get a quick reply based on the keyword you chose. This is the list of keywords you can text: DISTRACTIONS, STRESS, CRAVINGS, PARTY, BREAK, OOPS and MOTIVATION.
Don't panic! If you only smoked a few cigarettes, text the word "OOPS" to SMAT (20202) for some quick advice. You can also call the iQuitnow helpline at 1 866 527-7383 to speak to a quit smoking specialist. If you recently started smoking as many cigarettes as you did before and aren't sure if you still want to quit, text the word "RELAPSE". You will then receive occasional text messages encouraging you to keep trying. If you relapse, you can text the word "GO" to start the program over or go to your personal profile page on smat.ca to change your quit date.
To change your schedule, go to your personal profile using your email address and password.
Text the keyword "STOP" to 20202.
Yes. Even if you're not ready to take the leap in the next 30 days, you can still register with the text message support program for people who are thinking of quitting by choosing a quit date between 31 days and 6 months. You will then receive 12 text messages over a period of 6 months, or 2 text messages of support per month.
You can always choose to:
- Go to your personal profile and change your quit date to the 4-week preparation period before your new quit date.
- Text the word "GO" to SMAT (20202) to quit right away, without the preparation period.
You will get up to 6 text messages per selected criterion during the 24-week SMAT program.
If you smoked a few cigarettes but want to keep going, text the word "OOPS" to get advice and continue the program.
If you started smoking again like you did before and aren't sure if you still want to quit, text the word "RELAPSE" to suspend the program for 30 days. You will receive text messages of encouragement and can choose to start the program over or try again later, when you're ready.Yes, if you quit in the past 3 months, you can register to receive text messages of encouragement based on where you are in the process.
Lost or forgotten passwords cannot be recovered. However, you can ask us to text you a new password by clicking on this link.
Yes. When you confirmed your registration, we texted you a unique password, which you can use to access your personal profile at any time. If you have lost or forgotten your password, you can request a new one here.
If you don't receive the text message that we sent you to complete your registration by text message, our system will be notified and will automatically start the process over until the text message is sent. This situation might occur if you are in an area without network service, for example. If you still don't receive the registration text message, contact your mobile service provider to make sure your plan allows you to receive message texts from SMAT.
Yes. SMAT offers tips, information and encouragement by text message. So you must provide your cell phone number when you register. If you don't have a cell phone with a texting feature, you can get support by calling the iQuitnow helpline at 1 866 527-7383 or by registering on iquitnow.qc.ca.
There are a few reasons that may explain why this occurred:
- Did you text the word "OK" to 20202? Some Smartphones process text messages and emails from the same place, so you will also want to make sure you replied to SMAT by text message and not by email. Make sure you have confirmed your registration via SMS and not by email, Apple iMessage, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp or any other messaging application.
- If the above points do not apply to you, email us at support@smat.ca, taking care to provide your cell phone number (the one you registered with), the name of your cell phone provider, and your cell phone model.
If you choose a quit date within the next 30 days, you will receive around 80 text messages over a period of 28 weeks, i.e. 4 preparation weeks and 24 quit smoking weeks. If you're ready to quit today and you text the keyword "GO" to 20202 after confirming your SMAT registration, you will receive around 70 text messages for 24 weeks from the time of your quite date. In both cases, you will obtain an answer to all the keywords and all the questions you send to SMAT. If you selected one or more personalization criteria in your user profile, you will also receive at least 6 additional text messages per selected criterion from the time of your quit date. For example, if you choose the "student" and "employed" criterion, you will receive 12 additional text messages over a period of 24 weeks from the time of your quite date. Out of courtesy, we will also send you a monthly reminder to confirm your participation in the SMAT program.
Don't give into temptation! Be proactive and immediately text the word "CRAVINGS" to SMAT (20202) for some quick advice. You can also call the iQuitnow helpline at 1 866 527-7383 to speak to a quit smoking specialist.
You can call the iQuitnow helpline Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 9 pm, and on Friday from 8 am to 8 pm. The toll-free phone number is 1 866 527-7383.
You can change your quit date in one of 3 ways:
- If you want to quit now and start the program on Day 0, text the keyword "GO" to SMAT (20202).
- If you want to quit in the next 30 days* and start the program from the 4-week preparation period, text the keywords "START OVER" to SMAT (20202).
- You can also manually change your quit date by going to your personal profile on smat.ca, using your cell phone number and the unique and permanent password we sent you when you registered with the program.
*If your quit date is more than 30 days from now, you will receive general information on smoking and smoking cessation.
- You can text the keywords "Start over" to SMAT (20202) if you want to start the program again from the 4-week preparation point; or
- You can text the keyword "GO" to SMAT (20202) if you want to quit now and start the program again on Day 0.
If you registered with SMAT, text "GO" to SMAT at 20202 to start the quit smoking program right way. If you haven't registered, text the keyword "SMAT" to 20202 to register and select the current date as your quit date.
No. It's optional. You can choose criteria that fit your profile once you've confirmed your registration with SMAT. If you don't want to select any now but change your mind, you can choose criteria later on from your personal profile.
If you texted the word "RELAPSE" because you started smoking again like you did before and aren't sure if you still want to quit, the regular text messaging support program will be suspended and you will receive 4 text messages of encouragement from SMAT over the next 30 days. During this time, you can: text the word "GO" to start over right away, without the preparation text messages; text the words "START OVER" to start receiving the preparation text messages again; or text the word "RESUME" to start again where you left off. If you don't text "GO", "START OVER", or "RESUME", during the 30-day period, you will no longer receive messages from us and will be invited to try again when you're ready.
No. If you choose to partly fill your profile only, you can complete it later using your cell phone number and the password that we have provided you during the validation of your registration.
You can change the language of the text messages by sending a message to 20202 explaining what you want or by asking a quit coach to change the language of your text messages at 1 877 527-7378.
Lots of things! You can:
- Change your quit date
- Decide what times of day you want to receive message texts from the SMAT
- Request phone support from an iQuitnow helpline specialist
- Select personalization criteria to receive additional message texts
You bet you can! If you wish to discuss with a smoking cessation counselor by text message, you only have to send any text message to 20202. A coach will respond to your message as soon as possible. You can also ask to receive telephone support from a iQuitNow counsellor by checking the appropriate option during registration on smat.ca or by adding this option later when you log in to your personal profile. A quit coach will contact you in the weeks following your registration. You can also make the request by text message