Smoking cessation services in primary care, pharmacies, local authorities and workplaces, particularly for manual working groups, pregnant women and hard to reach communities

This guidance is for NHS and other professionals who have a direct or indirect  responsibility for services that help people to stop  smoking. It may also be of interest to members of the public who wish to quit.

The guidance advises the NHS, local authorities and their partners on the range of services that should be available for everyone who smokes or uses tobacco in any form. In particular, this includes pregnant women, those aged under 20, manual workers and people who are on a low income or income support.

It also gives advice on the training and education that managers and staff in stop smoking services need.

Recommended treatments that have been proven to be effective, either separately or combined, include:

• brief interventions by a GP and other practitioners working in a GP practice or the community (including advice, self-help materials and referral for more intensive support)
• individual behavioural counselling
• group behaviour therapy
• pharmacotherapies (for example, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT),varenicline or bupropion)
• self-help materials
• telephone counselling and quitlines
• mass-media campaigns to get the stop-smoking message across – using a combination of, for example, TV, radio and newspaper advertising.

• This guidance supersedes TA39 Smoking cessation - bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy. It crossreferences and is consistent with PH1 Brief interventions and referral for smoking cessation in primary care and other settings, PH5 Workplace health promotion: how to help employees to stop smoking and TA123 Varenicline for smoking cessation.   

• Other information

  • Smoking cessation services: smoking cessation in pregnancy algorithm
  • PH10 Smoking cessation services: guidance (web format)

  NICE Pathways

  This guidance has been incorporated into the following NICE Pathways, along with other related guidance and products.

  Visit the NICE Pathway: smoking

  How this guidance was produced

  Background information

  • 2008/011 NICE advice on the best way to quit smoking
  • Smoking cessation services - fieldwork report
  • Smoking cessation services - economics modelling report
  • PH10 Smoking cessation services: evidence

Guidance formats

• Web format
• Quick reference guide (PDF)
• Full Guidance (PDF)