Briefing for Community Pharmacy Teams
Supporting Smokers and Vapers: Help Me Quit (HMQ) Guidance
This briefing provides clarification for community pharmacy teams in Wales on how to advise and support individuals who smoke, vape, or use other nicotine products, in line with current Public Health Wales guidance.
Key Messages
Core advice to provide to individuals asking for support to quit vaping
- Vaping is considerably less harmful than smoking but is not risk-free.
- Anyone who smokes should be encouraged to access free HMQ support as the first option.
- Adult smokers who choose not to access HMQ but are considering vaping to help quit smoking should be advised that switching completely to vaping reduces harm, and that HMQ behavioural support remains available.
- Help Me Quit is unable to provide free vapes as a smoking cessation aid.
- People under 18 should be advised that there is no legal route to obtain tobacco or vapes, and should be encouraged to access HMQ
- People who do not smoke and are not at risk of returning to smoking should be encouraged to stop vaping.
- All advice should be evidence-based and person-centred.
For individuals who only vape and wish to quit:
- Explore smoking history and risk of relapse.
- The priority is to prevent a return to smoking.
Help Me Quit Support Pathways
1. Adults, or Children and Young People (under 18), who smoke and vape (dual users)
- Treat as smokers.
- Eligible for full HMQ support (behavioural support and NRT or other pharmacotherapy), including pharmacy-based services.
- Refer interested and eligible patients to Help Me Quit services using the professional referral pathway.
Note: Individuals who use other forms of tobacco including heat-not-burn, chewing tobacco and shisha are also eligible for HMQ support.
Smokers can also be signposted directly to Help Me Quit by:
2. Adults who only vape
If additional support to quit vaping is needed:
Encourage self-referral to HMQ for an additional one-off behavioural support session by:
3. Under-18s who vape
Vapers under 18 should be advised that there is no legal route to obtain nicotine-containing vapes and should be supported to access Help Me Quit (HMQ).
In response to increasing vaping among children and young people (CYP), HMQ is developing an enhanced support offer to complement existing services, with launch planned for September 2026.
The proposed model:
- Provides a structured, time-limited behavioural support pathway
- Follows an abrupt quit approach, aligned to best practice
- May include NRT where clinically appropriate
- Mirrors the established HMQ smoking cessation model
This approach aims to provide more intensive, tailored support for young people who are dependent on vapes and motivated to quit.
Refer or support self-referral to HMQ via:
- National referral routes (website)
- Local Health Board pathways
Important clarification
There is no specific HMQ support offer for individuals who smoke and vape but wish to stop vaping only. This reflects:
- Lack of evidence for an effective intervention
- No meaningful health gain from stopping vaping while continuing to smoke
HMQ App – Digital, self-help support
The Help Me Quit (HMQ) Smoking Cessation App is a complementary digital option within the HMQ service, designed for smokers who prefer flexible, on-demand support or face barriers to attending services.
It provides structured, evidence-based support that can improve quit success and act as a gateway into local services, including community pharmacy. The app:
- Offers 24/7, free, bilingual support
- Supports quit attempts that might otherwise be unsupported
- Provides personalised planning, behavioural tools and motivation
- Encourages engagement with wider HMQ services
The HMQ app is available via:
- HMQ website:
- Apple App Store and Google Play
- Search “helpmequit”
A dedicated vaping cessation module is expected in September 2026.