Smoking reduction, cutting down the cigarettes smoked per day, is common in the UK.
However, the amount that smokers cut down by is relatively small and there is little evidence to suggest that reducing cigarette consumption in itself has a positive effect on smoking-related outcomes.
Whilst unaided smoking reduction has not been reliably shown to increase quit attempts or smoking cessation rates, there is good evidence that the provision of NRT to smokers who cut down their cigarette consumption results in longer, substantial decreases in cigarette consumption and improves their chances to stop smoking completely.