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Brief intervention

AHW performing SmokeCheck brief intervention, artwork by Bronwyn Bancroft
  • The SmokeCheck brief intervention involves assessing people’s readiness and motivation to quit smoking, and uses the 5As approach (ask, advise, assess, assist, arrange follow up) to giving advice:
    • ASK the client if they are a smoker and how they feel about their smoking;
    • ADVISE that quitting is the best thing they could do for their health;
    • ASSESS the client’s stage of change and nicotine dependence;
    • ASSIST depending on the stage of change by offering information, environmental tobacco smoke advice, nicotine replacement therapy/pharmacotherapy, etc; and
    • ARRANGE follow up and record their stage of change.
  • Brief intervention is having a short encouraging yarn to raise awareness and share information.
  • Brief intervention aims to prompt a smoker to think about making changes to their tobacco smoking.
  • It can take as little as 3 minutes.
  • The purpose of brief intervention for smoking cessation is to increase motivation to quit (US Department of Health and Human Services 2000).
  • The World Health Organization encourages that brief interventions be delivered by all health professionals in the course of their routine work.
  • The SmokeCheck brief intervention is based on the ‘Stages of readiness to change model’ presented below and developed by Prochaska & DiClemente in 19831.
  • The use of motivational techniques (being positive and encouraging) has been shown to be effective in those smokers who may be unwilling to quit at time of contact2.
  • Quitting smoking is a process occurring over time, rather than a single discrete event.
  • Smokers cycle through the stages of being ready, quitting and relapsing on an average of four to five times before achieving long term success.
  • Success is defined as forward movement through stages, not just quitting3.
  • It is important that we always encourage our clients to talk about their smoking even if they do not want to quit yet.
Stages of readiness to change model

For further information please go to the NSW Ministry of Health web site.

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1- Prochaska, JO & DiClemente, CC 1983, ‘Stages and processes of self-change in smoking: towards an integrative model of change’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 51, pp. 390 - 395.

2- Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. April 2008.

3- NSW Ministry of Health 2005, “Let’s take a moment” quit smoking brief intervention – a guide for all health practitioners, NSW Ministry of Health, Sydney.