It explains how much smoking damages health at individual and public level; the central role of nicotine addiction in smoking: how to assess and assist individual smokers to quit smoking; how to set up smoking cessation services; the problems and dealing with smoking in special groups such as the young, or pregnant women; approaches to reducing the harm caused by smoking; the economic impact of smoking; and the public health and policy initiatives that can be used to reduce smoking.

It is a practical guide to dealing with one of the most important public health problems in the world.