Many people lapse when they try to give up smoking.

Lapsing is when you have a cigarette, or a few, when you’re trying to give up.

Just remember: it’s not like taking up smoking again! In fact, for many people, lapsing is just part of the process of giving up.

So if you do have a cigarette, just think of it as a lapse. Then collect yourself, and keep on not smoking.

Try using a lapse as a chance to learn. Have a look at what got you to the point of having the smoke, and then look at how you can manage that situation in the future.

Like if you had a cigarette at a party with friends... think about how to avoid saying ‘yes’ to a smoke, and how you can get support from your friends instead. Maybe you can ask them not to offer you a smoke – or maybe you can choose to be somewhere else, just while you’re newly quit.