Nicotine & tobacco dependence
If you want to change your nicotine or tobacco use, you can ask for support that fits the product you use and your circumstances. You do not need to do it through willpower alone.
Be clear about which product you use.
Cigarettes, vaping products and smokeless tobacco differ. Nicotine-related concerns can involve cravings, patterns of use and difficulty making a change, but one product's questionnaire is not automatically valid for another.
If you want help quitting cigarettes, counselling and approved medicines are options to discuss. For vaping or other products, ask a health professional what support fits that product and your situation.
Based on CDC · Heatherton and colleagues · British Journal of Addiction
Choose support around the product you use.
- Your product
Cigarettes, vaping or another product
- Your routines
Cravings and situations that matter
- Your goal
What you would like to change
- Your options
Appropriate advice and support
Describe what makes a change difficult.
Use these examples to prepare a conversation, rather than to grade yourself.
The product
Cravings or discomfort when you go without nicotine.
Cravings & routines
Use becoming part of routines you find difficult to change.
Previous attempts
Attempts to change use not working as you hoped.
Your preferences
Wanting help with the cost, health concerns or everyday impact.
Based on CDC · Heatherton and colleagues · British Journal of Addiction
A cigarette questionnaire has a specific purpose.
FTND was developed for cigarette smoking. Replacing cigarette wording with vape wording would create an unvalidated version, rather than the original test.
A clinician can ask about the product, frequency, previous attempts to change and your health. The conversation can be useful even without a score. Mention pregnancy, breastfeeding, age or medicines when discussing treatment.
Based on CDC · Heatherton and colleagues · British Journal of Addiction · NIDA Data Share · NIH
- 1The product
Cigarettes, vaping or another nicotine product?
- 2Your experience
What has been hardest when trying to change?
- 3Your goal
Which support options fit your health and preferences?
Tell the service which nicotine or tobacco product you use.
Cigarettes, vaping and other products are not interchangeable contexts for a questionnaire or treatment recommendation. Explain the product, the pattern and what you want help changing.
The CDC medicine guidance linked here concerns adult cigarette cessation. If you use another product, are under 18, pregnant or breastfeeding, seek professional advice about suitable support.
Product
Name the actual product rather than relying on a cigarette-based score.
Previous attempts
Describe what helped, what was difficult and any unwanted effects.
Support preferences
Ask about counselling, available medicines and follow-up for your context.
Based on CDC
Ask about counselling and appropriate treatment options.
You and your clinician can discuss what fits your needs, preferences and health.
Based on CDC
Support can address routines and withdrawal as well as motivation.
Adult cigarette cessation may involve counselling and suitable medicines. A clinician or cessation service can explain benefits, possible side effects and how options fit your health.
If you have tried before, that experience can help shape the next conversation. Ask for support that fits your circumstances rather than interpreting a setback as a personal verdict.
Based on CDC
A little clarity. A place to start.
Explore a tool, prepare a conversation or find someone to talk to. Choose what feels useful to you.
Prepare for a conversation
A few prompts to help you explain what you have noticed and what you would like help with.
- A simple notes builder
- Copy your notes to keep
- No account needed
You decide how much to write and share.
Find your wordsFind your next kind of support
Explore where to begin with everyday support, professional help or an urgent conversation.
- Ways to ask for help
- Country-specific crisis contacts
- Support at your own pace
If you need urgent help, go straight to support.
Find supportYour first sentence does not need to be perfect.
You could ask a clinician, pharmacist or local cessation service about support. Explain what you use and what has made previous attempts difficult. Seeking help is a practical choice, rather than a test of determination.
Based on CDC
“I would like support to change my nicotine use. Could we discuss the product I use and options that fit my circumstances?”Make it sound like you
Your questions, with room for nuance.
You can read just the answer you need.
Can the FTND be applied unchanged to vaping?
Its original context is cigarette smoking. A cigarette-based instrument should not be silently adapted to vaping or used to select treatment for another product.
Based on CDC
Where this information comes from.
Use this hub to learn and prepare questions. It does not diagnose you or recommend a personal treatment plan. By Selfmora editorial; sources checked . Updated .
Additional explanations and examples: sources consulted . Examples illustrate ideas; they do not assess your personal health. Your questions
- Medicines for quitting cigarettes: purpose and product context
- Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence: original study
- TAPS: two-stage screening instrument information