Does family medicine perform smoking cessation programmes?

A family medicine clinician can ask about cigarettes, shisha, vaping or other nicotine use, along with situations that trigger cravings. They can help you choose a quit date or a gradual reduction plan, identify withdrawal symptoms and set practical goals for handling urges.

Support may involve brief counselling, scheduled reviews and discussion of nicotine replacement or other prescription treatments when suitable. The clinician can consider your medical history, current medicines, pregnancy status and mental health before recommending an option. If the clinic does not run a dedicated programme, it can usually explain the available service and coordinate a referral.

Book an appointment with family medicine and say that you want help stopping tobacco or nicotine. Before the visit, note what you use, how often you use it, when you first use it after waking and any previous attempts to quit. Bring a list of medicines and mention alcohol use, stress, sleep problems or low mood if these affect your smoking.

At follow-up, tell the clinician whether cravings, irritability, cough or sleep changes are making the plan difficult. Adjusting the support plan is part of treatment; a lapse can be discussed without treating it as failure. Keep cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays out of easy reach, and tell people close to you how they can support your quit attempt.

Contact family medicine promptly if you develop severe mood changes, thoughts of self-harm, troubling reactions after starting a quit-smoking medicine, or withdrawal symptoms that are difficult to manage. Seek emergency care for chest pain, severe shortness of breath, sudden weakness, or fainting, whether or not you are taking part in a cessation programme.

Ask which smoking cessation support is available through the practice, which treatment options fit your health needs, how follow-up will be arranged, and what to do if you smoke after your planned quit date.