Background and challenges to implementation:
Smoking as a menace is realized by smoker at one or another point in time but the family suffers this menace day in and out. Counselling a smoker regarding quitting is beneficial, but still failures are seen. Families are usually left bystanders in this practice. In developing countries like India, where-in, family bonding and social support is relatively high compared to Western countries, involving families in smoking cessation counselling is likely to yield better results.

Intervention or response:
194 male smokers reporting to a tertiary care hospital over 1 year for various illnesses were enrolled in study. The individuals were matched regarding age, educational qualifications and social status. 96 patients were counselled in presence of their family members especially wife with or without children. 98 patients were counselled traditionally regarding smoking cessation. Both groups were followed up for 1 year

Results and lessons learnt:
Out of family group (n-96), 63 (65%) admitted to be abstinent from smoking after 1 year, however only 32 (33%) of the traditional group (n-98) successfully quit smoking. Smoking cessation counselling with family involvement results in better quit rates compared to counselling only the smoker..

Conclusions and key recommendations:
Smoking affects not individuals but families. Blaming and letting only smoker decide his future yields poor quit rates. Involving families in making decisions regarding quitting leads to multi prong attack, and especially in societies with strong family bondage, respect and dependence, quitting smoking by smoker becomes a duty rather than choice. Thus, it´s strongly recommended to involve family members in smoking cessation counselling.