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Support to quit
Purpose
To provide active and ongoing support to help your clients quit smoking.
Why this step is important
A core goal of any Tackling Tobacco project is to provide clients and staff with active and consistent support to quit smoking. After all, people who receive support from family, friends or others are around 50% more likely to successfully give up smoking than those who receive no support.
Completion time
5-6 months
Who to involve
- Staff
- Clients
- Carers
- Volunteers
Steps to implement
You can take the first step toward making a positive change by starting a conversation and offering advice, support and planning. This is as simple as:
- asking and recording smoking status
- advising to stop smoking and offering support
- assessing motivation to quit and nicotine dependence
For those who smoke, the following questions can help determine their level of nicotine addiction and how likely they are to experience withdrawal symptoms:
- assisting to quit by providing personal support and referring to evidence-based quit services
Once you establish if and how much incoming clients smoke, you can help them set achievable goals. Whether clients want to quit smoking or just reduce the amount they smoke, reaching smaller, more frequent milestones can be key steps in successfully making a change.
- arranging to follow-up, monitor progress with quitting and provide additional personalised support
Continuing to monitor smoking status and related data is important to maintain a high quality of care. When you keep a clear picture of how your clients are progressing throughout your interaction with them, you are better able to help them set, adjust and achieve their goals.
See brief intervention booklets to assist.
The approach you choose to help your clients quit smoking could be similar to what your organisation already does to promote other positive life changes. You can help clients quit through setting goals, identifying improvements and celebrating successes.
The form of support you provide will vary depending on your service. Options could include:
- support groups or individual therapy
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).
See factsheets that can be provided to clients to assist in discussion.
“Quitting smoking is an ongoing process, one that often takes multiple attempts before people can quit for good.”
Depending on the type of service you provide, you might need to refer your clients to external services after they leave your care. External help could include:
- general practitioner
- Quitline or iCanQuit website
- community smoking support groups.