Smoking has more free help behind it than anything else on this section. Every part of the UK runs a service that costs you nothing.
In 2023, just under one in eight UK adults smoked cigarettes. That is the lowest share since records began. Most of the people who stopped had help.
Source: ONS: smoking habits 2023
Where the free help is
A GP, pharmacist or health visitor can refer you to a local stop smoking service. You can also phone one yourself.
The service gives you an adviser and access to stop smoking medicines. Both sides of that matter, and using them together is the point.
England Free local services with trained advisers and stop smoking medicines, plus the national Smokefree helpline.
Each nation runs its own service.
Scotland NHS Scotland's stop smoking service, with a free helpline and local support.
Wales NHS Wales' stop smoking service, with a free helpline and local advisers.
Northern Ireland The Public Health Agency's stop smoking service, with a search for local support.
Sources: NHS: stop smoking services, NHS: quit smoking support
What the cigarettes were doing for you
Almost nobody smokes for the taste. It marks the breaks in the day and interrupts a rising temper. It gives you a reason to step outside alone.
Stopping removes all of that at once. That is why a quit attempt can feel like losing a coping strategy rather than dropping a habit.
A professional can help you work out what the cigarettes were carrying, and what else could carry it. That is a different job from the patches and the adviser, and it sits alongside them.
Hypnotherapy and stopping smoking
Hypnotherapy is widely advertised for quitting. The evidence for it is weaker than the evidence for the NHS route. Advertising rules treat smoking claims as high risk.
If you try it, treat it as an addition to the free service rather than a replacement for it. Ask what the practitioner can evidence before you pay.
You might find it useful when
- Every quit attempt ends the same way and you want to understand why
- Smoking is how you manage stress, anger or boredom
- Stopping dropped your mood further than you expected
- A health scare has made this urgent and the pressure is not helping
- You have stopped and the restlessness has not gone
The free service handles the nicotine. A professional found here handles the rest.
Thanks for your interest. We're not taking on new clients at the moment.
Ready to talk about what the cigarettes were holding?
We ask what matters to you, then find professionals who fit.
- I have tried to quit many times and it never sticks
- Smoking is how I handle stress
- I stopped and my mood fell off a cliff
- I want to stop before something forces me to
