Stop Smoking - Idea Generation

 So the idea of this brief is to find a new aid for people trying to quit smoking.

I need to look into why people smoke so therefore I can somehow combat theses issues.

There are already a lot of campaigns and things that have been designed to try help people stop smoking, although three quarters of smokers who have quit, have done it unaided through determination.

Saying this there is still a very big audience that smoke, some of who aren't even bothered about trying to quit. So I will try and aim for this market.

Why do people smoke?...
Habit? Addiction? There is a much bigger list of things that may make people start smoking.

It can be a little reward

It is a measure of time/break.

Smoking relates to being with friends

For comfort


For relaxation or to think

Relieve boredom... this list goes on and differs from person to person.

So... the idea that I come up with has to target these areas and fill in the gaps.

Looking at the list it is all about the mind, clearing the mind and enabling you to take a short break out from what ever you are doing or from the stresses of everyday life.

I need to create something that gives someone a valid reason to take a break in basic terms. Smoking is like a 5 minute break. Whereas if someone said they were going for a break who wasn't a smoker you would expect them to be more around 10-15 minutes. Its almost as though smokers can get more 'breaks' because they are shorter breaks. So maybe this is a way of clearing the mind and smoking is a habit and addiction that has risen from this.


What can I design that gives a 5 minute break from everyday life, but that is not bad for your health. Food I wouldn't say is a good route to go down because it is far to common. As smoking can be a sort of 'club' what I create to help smokers quit needs to be something more stimulating and exciting than something normal like food.

I think the act of actually inhaling when you smoke is also a key factor because you are doing something to your body. It is important that you feel better or more relaxed after your 'stop smoking break'.

Relating to closely to the act of smoking wouldn't be very helpful for people trying to quit. For example designing something else that you inhale would just bring memories of a cigarette and in turn bring on a craving.