Helping a smoker who wants to stop
PLAB 2 practice station

The task

You are a doctor in a GP surgery. Mrs Maureen Doyle, aged 47, has booked to talk about her smoking after a chest infection last month. She is alone. Assess her smoking and her readiness to stop, then advise her on the best ways to give up, including support and medicines, and agree a plan. The examiner will not take part in the conversation.

What this station tests

• Combine behavioural support with medicine: it works better than either alone.
• Ask about dependence, previous attempts and triggers before advising.
• Be honest about vaping: less harmful, not harmless.
• Set a quit date and a short follow up.

Sources for the clinical content

• NICE NG209: Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence
• NHS: Quit smoking
• NICE NG115: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in over 16s

An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.

Practise next

• Starting a statin to lower heart disease risk
• Choosing contraception when pills are forgotten
• Diet advice after a diabetes diagnosis
• Alcohol advice after raised liver blood tests
• A parent unsure about her son's measles vaccine