Behavioral therapies play a crucial role in supporting smoking cessation by increasing the likelihood of long-term abstinence. They are more effective when combined with pharmacotherapy, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), cytisinicline, varenicline, or bupropion NICE CKS.
Implementation in clinical practice includes providing individual or group counselling, which has been shown to be more effective than minimal support or pharmacotherapy alone NICE CKS,NICE NG209.
Healthcare professionals should discuss smoking behaviour, develop a personal stop-smoking plan, and offer tailored behavioural support, including techniques like increasing the time between cigarettes, delaying the first cigarette of the day, and choosing specific periods when not to smoke NICE NG209.
Use of behavioural support can be delivered via face-to-face sessions, telephone quitlines, or internet support sites, with regular follow-up to motivate and monitor progress, including measuring exhaled CO levels NICE NG209.
Providing self-help materials and social media publicity can further support harm reduction and smoking cessation efforts NICE NG209.