Virtual quit-smoking clinic · Alberta

Quit smoking for good — with a doctor beside you, every week.

ClearQuit is a 12-week medical program run entirely by virtual visits. You and your doctor work as a team — choosing the quit-smoking medication that fits you, setting a quit date together, and meeting every single week until you're through.

$0 visits with your Alberta Health card
No referral needed
100% virtual, anywhere in Alberta
Takes 6 questions. No commitment — you'll get a personalised plan either way.
W2 Quit day W6 Halfway Week 12 Your ClearQuit doctor Weekly video or phone visit Medication matched to your smoking pattern
your odds of quitting vs. going alone
12
weeks of weekly doctor check-ins
$0
visit cost with a valid Alberta Health card
Day 14
your quit date — set together, prepared properly
How it works

Three steps. No referral. No waiting room.

You don't need a family doctor's referral, and you don't need to be sure you're ready — that's what the first visit is for.

1

Build your quit plan online

Answer 6 questions and register with your Alberta Health Care details. You'll instantly get a personalised plan — your dependence level, your worries answered, and a suggested quit date.

2

Meet your doctor (virtual)

An Alberta physician reviews your health, chooses the right quit-smoking medication with you — patch, varenicline, or bupropion — and together you set your quit date about two weeks out, so the medication is working before you stop.

3

Quit — with weekly backup

A virtual visit every week for 12 weeks: doses adjusted when cravings bite, a plan for every trigger, and a doctor who never discharges you for slipping. Then 3-month and 12-month check-ins.

The 12-week program

Built around how quitting actually happens.

Most quit attempts fail in the first two weeks after stopping. ClearQuit puts the most support exactly there — and keeps going long after the hard part.

Weeks 1–2

Prepare

Medication starts building up. You track your triggers, ready your home, and rehearse your first smoke-free morning. QUIT DAY — WEEK 2

Weeks 3–6

Stabilize

Peak withdrawal handled week by week. Doses adjusted if cravings are strong. By week 6, your heart-attack risk is already falling.

Weeks 7–9

Strengthen

Real tools for stress, sleep and weight. A written emergency plan for slips. Medication taper begins — only when you're ready.

Weeks 10–12

Maintain

Taper completes, a maintenance plan for life is written, and you graduate — with 3-month and 12-month follow-ups already booked.

Medication, matched to you

Willpower is not a treatment plan.

Nicotine addiction is a medical condition, and it responds to medication. Your doctor will match one of three proven, first-line options to your smoking pattern, health history and past attempts.

Nicotine replacement — combination

Patch + gum, lozenge or spray

A steady patch handles the background need; a fast-acting form knocks down breakthrough cravings. Dosed to how much you actually smoke, then tapered gently.

Varenicline

Highest quit rates in trials

Calms the receptors nicotine acts on — cravings shrink and cigarettes stop feeling rewarding. Started two weeks before your quit date so it's fully working when you stop.

Bupropion

Helpful for mood & weight concerns

A non-nicotine tablet that reduces cravings and withdrawal, eases low mood, and delays quit-related weight gain. Can be combined with the patch.

Medication costs are separate from your visits, but many Alberta employer plans, Blue Cross plans and NIHB cover them — your pharmacist will help you check. Even better: QuitCore, AHS's free group support program, is yours to join directly — one call to the AlbertaQuits Helpline (1-866-710-7848) enrols you, and enrolling gives you up to $500 of medication coverage (100%, for 24 weeks) through Alberta Blue Cross, billed directly at your pharmacy.

Is ClearQuit for you?

A specialist service — by design.

ClearQuit is for you if…

  • You're 18 or older and smoke (or vape nicotine) — and want to stop, or want help deciding
  • You live in Alberta and hold a valid Alberta Health Care card
  • All visits are virtual — your doctor decides on video or phone
  • You've tried before and it didn't stick — that's most of our patients

What we are not

  • We are not your family doctor — we treat one thing: quitting smoking
  • Not a walk-in clinic or urgent care — keep your regular doctor for everything else
  • Not a pharmacy — prescriptions are faxed to the pharmacy you choose
ClearQuit is a focused medical service from Kira Health. We work alongside your existing care, not instead of it. With your consent, we send your family doctor a summary at the start and end of the program so your records stay complete. No referral is needed to join — you can start today. Want to know who'll be looking after you? Meet the Kira Health physician team →
Start here — free, 3 minutes

Build your personal quit plan

Six questions, then your registration details. You'll get your plan instantly — and the clinic will contact you to book your intake visit.

Questions, answered

FAQ

What does it cost?

Your visits are insured services billed to Alberta Health — with a valid Alberta Health Care card you pay nothing for appointments. Medications are separate, but most patients can get them covered: joining QuitCore (AHS's free group program — you self-enrol with one call to 1-866-710-7848) unlocks up to $500 of 100% medication coverage through Alberta Blue Cross for 24 weeks, direct-billed at your pharmacy. Many employer plans and NIHB also cover quit medications. For perspective: a pack-a-day habit costs roughly $500–600 a month, permanently.

What is QuitCore, and do I have to join it?

QuitCore is Alberta Health Services' free group support program — six 90-minute facilitated sessions, offered by phone, video or in person, for Albertans 18+. It's optional but strongly recommended alongside ClearQuit: group support stacks with your weekly doctor visits, and enrolling activates the $500 Alberta Blue Cross medication coverage. Joining is simple and entirely in your hands — one call to the AlbertaQuits Helpline (1-866-710-7848) registers you. Your ClearQuit doctor will point you to it and answer any questions at your intake visit.

Do I need a referral from my family doctor?

No. ClearQuit is self-referred — complete the quit plan above and the clinic books you directly. With your consent, we'll keep your family doctor in the loop with a summary.

Who will I be seeing?

Alberta-licensed physicians providing virtual care under the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta standards. The same doctor follows you through your 12 weeks wherever possible. ClearQuit is run by Kira Health, a Calgary-based medical clinic group — you can meet the physician team here.

What if I'm not sure I'm ready to quit?

Then you're exactly who the first visit is for. There's no test to pass. If you're not ready for a quit date, your doctor works through what's in the way — without pressure — and you decide the timeline together.

What happens if I slip — or fully relapse?

You stay in the program. A slip is information, not failure: we adjust your medication and plan, and if you relapse we reset the quit date and go again — often with a different medication combination. Most people who quit for good needed more than one attempt. We never discharge you for relapsing.

I vape — can you help me stop?

Yes — nicotine is nicotine. Mention it in your intake visit; the same program structure and most of the same medications apply to quitting vaping.

How do virtual visits work?

All visits are virtual, at a booked time — your doctor decides whether each one is by video or phone. You'll need to be physically in Alberta at the time of each visit. Prescriptions go straight to your pharmacy by fax.

Is my information private?

The quit-plan tool on this page sends nothing over the internet — your answers stay on your device until you choose to print or save them. Once you're a patient, your records are kept like any medical record, under Alberta's Health Information Act.