stop smoking/ quit smoking

[optimistic pessimist]

Dear all,

Do you say "stop smoking" when you kick the habit of smoking?

e.g. My father stopped smoking last year.


Or is it better to say "quit smoking"?


Thank you!


OP

 

[konungursvia]

Both are okay, though quit smoking is clearer, as it always means giving up the habit, whereas stop smoking can mean putting a cigarette out.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, we view "to quit" anything as being AmE. I would always use "to stop smoking", a phrase I would not use to mean "to extinguish a cigarette".

 

[Tdol]

Smoking cessation is also used in medical circles.

I would beg to differ with emsr2d2 a little- having stopped smoking and spent lots of time reading up on it, quit sounds perfectly natural to me, and it's not that uncommon to hear the term used by BrE speakers who have given up or are doing so. For instance, I have heard quit or die used frequently, but not stop or die. It may not sound as normal to the wider population, though.

 

[probus]

To sum up, it's usually stop smoking in BrE and quit smoking in AmE.

 

[emsr2d2]

I failed to mention "to give up smoking" which, for me, is the most natural statement.

John: Do you want a cigarette?
Jane: No thanks. I've given up.

John: Do you want a cigarette?
Jane: No thanks. I gave up smoking three weeks ago.

 

[JarekSteliga]

In BrE, we view "to quit" anything as being AmE. I would always use "to stop smoking", a phrase I would not use to mean "to extinguish a cigarette".

NOT A TEACHER

If you would never use "to stop smoking" to mean "to extinguish a cigarrette", what phrase would you use? ("to extinguish a cigarette" sounds somewhat awkward to me, i.e. not like everyday communication).

In other words what phrases would you use instead of "stop doing ..." in below examples?

1. John, stop smoking and lend me a hand here, will you.

2. John, stop eating, I think there's a fly in your soup.

3. John, please stop reading a moment, there's something I want to discuss with you.

 

[Tdol]

1 works fine, but when talking about a cigarette, the smoker would probably use something like stubbed out/finished. 1 is an order and not the natural act that occurs when a cigarette is finished.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would say "put a cigarette out".

Put your cigarette out please. Smoking isn't allowed in here.
I'll just put my cigarette out and then I'll be ready to leave.
If you don't put your cigarettes out properly, there's a danger your house will catch fire.
My aunt's house burnt down because she didn't put a cigarette out properly before going to bed.

 

[konungursvia]

In BrE, we view "to quit" anything as being AmE. I would always use "to stop smoking", a phrase I would not use to mean "to extinguish a cigarette".

You say that like it's a bad thing.