In the United Kingdom, around 12% of teenagers are regular smokers and in parts of the world more than 35% of young people smoke.1 Evidence suggests that preventive measures have limited success in stemming the progress from early experimentation to addiction and on to long term regular smoking in adulthood.2

The white paper, Smoking Kills, noted that people who start smoking at an early age are more likely than other smokers to smoke for a long period of time and more likely to die prematurely from a smoking related disease. Yet studies have shown that young people who smoke repeatedly attempt to quit,3 and around 70% of young smokers express a desire to quit shortly after taking up the habit.4 The primary aim of smoking cessation services is to help young people to quit before smoking becomes addictive, heavy, and ingrained. In the light of this, we need to know what works for young people who have …