Increased awareness of smoking patterns
Participants described an increased awareness of smoking patterns as a key step in facilitating quitting smoking. They described a shift in their awareness, from smoking being automatic, where they would ‘smoke and not necessarily know I was smoking’ (Participant 2), to being more ‘analytical’ about their smoking patterns (Participant 4). This ‘understanding why you smoke’ (Participant 3) seemed to facilitate participants' sense of psychological capability to not smoke (Table One aspect of increased awareness was an improved awareness of smoking triggers (Table Participants also described greater awareness of how smoking contributed to the maintenance of a ‘vicious cycle’ (Participant 13) of smoking and stress (Table This increased awareness of how smoking was contributing to difficulties in their mental health appeared to increase motivation to change. One participant described smoking to control her appetite; increased awareness of the unhelpful nature of her beliefs about her weight helped to facilitate stopping smoking (Table 