What I Am Quitting For: A Free ACT Values and Willingness Worksheet for Stopping Smoking and Vaping

Behavioural Addiction · ACT · Practice-informed

A four-part page for ACT work on quitting. It ticks what matters in life, names what the client is willing to feel, practises stepping back from the thought "I need one" and chooses one small action this week that fits what matters, with when and where.

Underlying mechanism: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Values, Willingness and Cognitive Defusion for Nicotine and Vaping Cessation

What it helps with

Connecting quitting to what matters, so motivation does not rest on willpower alone.
Making room for urges, irritability and low mood as part of the body adjusting.
Stepping back from thoughts that sound like orders, without arguing with them.
Turning values into one small, specific action each week.

How clinicians use it

Use it at Session 4, after the kind coach session.
Start from what matters and frame withdrawal as the body adjusting.
Practise defusion with a real thought and keep it light.
Agree one small action with a time and a place, and review it at the next session.

Clinical Implementation Guide

Name what matters and what the client is willing to feel.
Practise stepping back from one real thought.
Choose one small action this week with a time and a place.

What the worksheet looks like

What I Am Quitting For — worked example
The thought my mind gives me	Now say: "I am having the thought that..."	What I notice
I cannot cope without one	I am having the thought that I cannot cope without one	It feels lighter. It is a thought.

Clinical cautions

Do not use values work to pressure the client. Withdrawal can bring low mood and poor sleep for a short time, so check mood across sessions and screen for suicidal thoughts if mood drops. Defusion is not a way to argue with the thought, so keep it gentle. Medication and nicotine replacement decisions belong to the client with their GP, pharmacist or stop smoking service. If the client reports hopelessness, self-harm or suicidal thoughts, follow local risk procedures. Take complex cases, pregnancy, serious mental illness and under-18s to supervision.

References

Bricker, J. B., Watson, N. L., Mull, K. E., Sullivan, B. M., & Heffner, J. L. (2020). Efficacy of smartphone applications for smoking cessation: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(11), 1472-1480. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4055
Hernández-López, M., Luciano, M. C., Bricker, J. B., Roales-Nieto, J. G., & Montesinos, F. (2009). Acceptance and commitment therapy for smoking cessation: A preliminary study of its effectiveness in comparison with cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 723-730. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017632
Fan, J., Lei, X., Zhang, J., et al. (2025). Efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 22(6), e70086. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.70086
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Copyright and use in research

Suggested citation (APA 7th edition): Pomfret, R. (2026). Quit Without the Fight: A third-wave protocol for stopping nicotine and vaping (Version 1.0) [Therapist guide and worksheets]. Third Wave Therapy Tools. https://thirdwavetherapytools.com/

Part of

Quit Without the Fight

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