Lady who had gained weight over the last 6 months ago. She used to be a smoker.

The candidate congratulated her on successfully quitting and counseled against restarting cigarettes. ("Congratulations Ms. Jones for successfully quitting - remain quit please")It is important to know useful facts for counseling as Smoking is actively being worked against in the USA.

People who quit smoking gain weight but most of them will return to baseline weight at the end of two years of smoke free life.

Wrinkles come at a much faster pace in people who smoke. Since the patient above is vain, it should be stressed how his/her looks are going to be worse if smoking continues.

Smoking even 3 cigarettes a day doubles your risk for a heart attack.

Nicotine works on the same receptors as heroin and cocaine. This is why it is important to offer help and counseling.

Cardiovascular risk becomes like general population at the end of  2-3 years.

There are different stages of quitting. It is a complex behavior and thus is difficult to quit. The stages of quitting are: "precontemplation",   "contemplation", "preparation" and finally "action."

Medicines helpful in quitting include the following: Bupropion, Fluoxetine (Prozac - although not officially approved by the FDA, it is in the NIH guidelines), Nortryptiline and Nicotine replacement.

Find out the driving force for the patient to keep smoking and target that.

The rate of quitting with the help of a physician and medicine is 5 times better than cold turkey.