change occurred through a subtle and often complex progression

emphasises the gradual nature of change, occurs through a fixed series of six discrete stages

recognised that overcoming addiction was rarely the result of one single decision to change

individuals move through these stages in order, but may, on occasion, relapse and revert to an earlier stage before repeating the cycle again

stage 3. preparation - action is taken in the form of planning and preparation, small behavioural changes 'i am changing next month so i need to plan how i will do it'

stage 6. termination - no longer tempted to revert to the former behaviour and is completely confident that they are able to maintain the change - relapse cannot occur 'i will never do it again'

stage 2. contemplation - show an awareness, have not yet made a commitment to do anything about it, do not act on it 'i will change tomorrow'

stage 4. action - plan is put into action, the person actually makes a change in their behaviour. relapse can occur in this stage 'i have stopped'

stage 1. pre contemplation - unaware that their behaviour is unhealthy and becoming problematic, do not have an intention to change their behaviour - 'i am ok right now'

stage 5. maintenance - consolidate the gains attained during the previous stage to prevent relapse. maintenance strategies are employed, relapse can still occur 'i have still stopped'

there was also no demographic differences in success (gender, age) suggesting that it suits all groups

however that success was dependent on the smoking habits (eg frequency) of the individual

velicer et al 2007 conducted a meta analysis of 5 studies and found that there was a 22-26% success rate - smoking cessation