How do you help someone else quit smoking?
Short answer
The most useful thing is to ask whether they want to stop before offering any advice, and then help with the practical part: finding the quitline number, going to the pharmacy with them, keeping the home smoke-free. Repeated reminders and pressure usually reduce the chance they decide for themselves.
Key points
- Ask first whether they want to stop.
- Help with practical things rather than repeating reminders.
- The quitline on 1800 6606 is free and they can call it themselves.
- A relapse does not mean the plan has failed.
Start with a question
Ask whether they want to stop, and listen to the answer. This is the step most often skipped.
If they do not want to yet, every piece of advice that follows lands in a different conversation from the one you think you are having.
What usually backfires
Repeated reminders. Disease statistics. Ultimatums. Counting cigarettes. These turn quitting into a negotiation between two people rather than a decision by the person who smokes.
What usually helps
The practical part. Have the quitline number ready. Go to the pharmacy with them to ask about nicotine replacement therapy. Take on household jobs during the first week.
The setting. If you smoke too, agree in advance where. If there are ashtrays and lighters in the house, clear them before their quit date.
The language. Talk about what you notice, not about what they should do.
A no-smoking-indoors rule
This is something you can decide even if they are not ready to quit. It is a reasonable request, and it protects everyone else in the home immediately.
WHO states there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
When they smoke again
Most people who stop for good tried several times first. Ask what was happening. That is information they can use next time.
The quitline is 1800 6606, free, 08:00 to 22:00 daily. They can call it themselves without giving a name.
Common questions
- What if they do not want to quit?
- You cannot decide for them. What you can decide is whether your home has smoke in it. Proposing a no-smoking-indoors rule is a reasonable request and does not require them to quit.
- What should you say if they smoke again?
- One relapse does not erase the days they did not smoke. The useful response is to ask what was happening at the time, not to remind them what they promised.
Sources for this article
- Guidance on smoking cessation counselling and treatmentMinistry of Health, Vietnam
- Tobacco fact sheetWHO
- Respiratory Centre, quitline 1800 6606Bach Mai Hospital
- Stop smokingNHS