Ask for support with smoking
Not ratedgeneral health evidence
Plan a supported quit talk that considers your ADHD and past attempts.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Name the smoking moment you'd most want help with.
5 minutes
List your strongest cravings, previous attempts and questions for an adviser.
15 minutes
Find a local stop-smoking service or ask your clinician for a support appointment.
How sure the science is
Not rated, general health evidence
- No pooled trials to rate.
- This rests on single studies, expert consensus or clinical practice.
- Measured in the general population.
- ADHD trials of this do not exist or are too small.
CDC smoking-cessation evidence and guidance with ADHD smoking-risk reviews; no source-specific GRADE rating for this action.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
- In the general population, stopping smoking cuts cardiovascular, lung and cancer risks, and CDC reports it can add up to 10 years to life expectancy.
- ADHD is associated with more smoking and substance-related problems, so support that's easy to reach matters more.
- Counselling and medication together are effective general quit support, with your own choices made together with a clinician.
How to do it
- Tell a clinician or stop-smoking adviser about your smoking and past quit attempts.
- Say when cravings hit hardest and what made earlier attempts hard.
- Ask which support and treatments suit your health, your medicines and what you prefer.
Ask a clinician or pharmacist to go through treatment options and your medicines with you, including if you are pregnant.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- Tell an adviser that remembering a complex plan was difficult during your previous attempt.
- Ask for a clear plan for cravings and a way to get follow-up support.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeCalling a past attempt a failure can put you off getting support. Bring what you learned from it.
- Common mistakeGuessing at a quit-smoking medicine can miss safety issues. Go through the options with a professional.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- B Trials in ADHD with low certainty, or strong general health evidence with a sourced reason it matters more with ADHD.
- The number
- Quitting smoking can add up to 10 years to life expectancy (CDC, 2024)
- Benefit
- 75/100 An editorial priority for the general list, weighted by certainty. It does not predict what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Big commitment
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineBenefits of Quitting SmokingCDC, 2024
- Tier 1 guidelineHow to Quit SmokingCDC, 2024
- Tier 2 studyThe impacts associated with having ADHD: an umbrella reviewFrontiers in Psychiatry, 2024
- General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan.
- Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you.
- Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.