Helping someone quit

It's great to be able to support someone to quit smoking. Many people really appreciate and rely on the support they get from family and friends during their quit journey.

If you are helping someone to quit

Here are some simple ideas you can use to help someone during their quit journey.

1. Offering advice and assistance is beneficial, however it's important to not come across as being someone who is pressurising or confrontational in your style of support.  Quitting smoking can be challenging, and a caring and accommodating approach is most helpful.  Sometimes smokers say they feel pressure from others when they try to quit.
2. Strategies that have scientific backing are likely to work best, even if you know of someone who says they quit using an alternative method.  It's a good idea to suggest to a person trying to quit that they use products and strategies that health professionals support and agree with.
3. Try not to get too disheartened if someone goes back to smoking. It can take many attempts to quit. It's important to provide encouragement even if a slip up occurs. If a person does go back to full-time smoking, they are still likely to make an attempt again.
4. Being available to talk through concerns or worries during the quit process is an important role for a friend or relative. Someone might like to talk to you to distract themselves from smoking or perhaps when they get a craving. At other times they may wish to talk to you about the challenges they might be facing with quitting. It's great to be a 'listening ear' at those times.

If you are trying to quit:

• To tell or not to tell?