Help someone quit smoking

Quitting smoking is a journey that people don’t need to go on alone. It's great to be able to help someone to quit, and support is really important.

If you are helping someone to quit smoking there are some simple ways you can help.

Encouragement

Sometimes people who smoke say they feel pressure from others when they try to quit, so it's important to be supportive and not confrontational. Quitting smoking can be challenging, and a caring and respectful approach is most helpful.

Scientific strategies

Some people quit smoking using alternative methods—it's a good idea to suggest quit products and strategies that are evidence based and reliable. Find a list of recommended ways to quit on our iCanQuit website.

Lapses

It can take many attempts to quit smoking successfully—try not to get disheartened if a person lapses or relapses. If a person does go back to full-time smoking, they are still likely to try again to quit.

Listening

Being available to talk through concerns or worries during the quitting process is an important role for friends or relatives — it’s great to be available to listen. Someone who is trying to quit smoking might like to talk to you to distract themselves or discuss the challenges they might be facing with quitting smoking.

iCanQuit

Our iCanQuit website offers a helpful online resource for people who are planning to quit smoking, are attempting to quit smoking or need some extra motivation to stay quit for good.

If someone you know is interested in quitting smoking, iCanQuit is a great website to refer them to.

It also provides more information on how to help someone quit smoking.

Watch our video on how to start your journey to quit smoking with iCanQuit