Personalisation in the Tobacco Dependency Service

In October 2025, we sat down with Vicky, Kate, Ashlea, and Praveen from Lincolnshire’s Acute Tobacco Dependency Service to talk about how they support people on their journey to a smoke-free life.

The service has a simple belief at its heart: real change starts with listening. By slowing down, hearing each person’s story, and shaping support around what matters most to them, the team is helping people take life-changing steps toward a smoke-free future.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW to listen to our conversation with Vicky, Kate, Ashlea, and Praveen from Lincolnshire Tobacco Dependency Service

Listening first: Understanding the whole person

Person-centred care begins with time, something the service intentionally protects. Advisors spend up to 45 minutes with each patient in their first conversation. That space allows people to talk about more than smoking: their families, their worries, their health, their hopes.

As Kate explained, “Everybody has a story and it’s about getting to know that person - and we have the time to do it.”

This shift matters. Many patients arrive expecting judgement or a lecture. Instead, they find empathy. “We’re not here to waggle fingers,” Vicky emphasised. “We’re here to make patients’ journeys as comfortable as they can be.”

By understanding each person’s context - bereavement, stress, loneliness, or health fears - the team can tailor support that genuinely fits their life.

Co-designing support: Tailored plans, not one-size-fits-all

At the core of the team’s approach is co-design. Rather than dictating what someone “should” do, they sit alongside people to shape a plan together, using techniques like motivational interviewing to uncover what motivates them.

Praveen highlighted why this personalised approach matters: “Tobacco dependency is a chronic condition that demands ongoing support… each person is different and we need to adapt our service to them.”

This means assessing medical needs, emotional readiness, and social circumstances, and making joint decisions about nicotine replacement therapy, behavioural support, or community follow-up. It also means recognising when not quitting is the right call—for now.

As Ashley noted, “Sometimes it’s not the right time for them… but next time, when circumstances improve, they might be ready.”

Empathy and trust: changing expectations of care

Many patients are surprised, often pleasantly, by being truly heard. Kate described how often people put up a hand to ward her off at first, expecting criticism. But with patience, conversation, and trust-building, something shifts.

One patient, she recalled, “never really planned to give up smoking,” yet with gentle, consistent support, she reached a four-month quit, despite going through bereavement. “She’s amazed… it just needed the right time and the right support.”

This trust is powerful. It helps patients see that change is possible, even if they’ve tried and struggled before.

Making every contact count

Person-centred care isn’t just the responsibility of the tobacco dependency team. It’s a cultural shift across the hospital, ensuring every staff member takes a moment to ask, listen, and act.

As Vicky put it, “That one interaction with the patient… can change their life.”

By meeting people where they are, valuing their expertise in their own lives, and building support around what matters most to them, Lincolnshire’s service is showing how person-centred care is doing more than helping people quit smoking.

It’s restoring confidence so people feel able to manage their own journey.

It’s building connection, and better relationships.

And it’s transforming lives, one conversation at a time.