A patient with emphysema whose father died of COPD opens the appointment by saying he is ready to stop smoking. What is the appropriate next step?

Correct answer: C. Help him set a specific quit date

• A. Consciousness-raising belongs to the PRECONTEMPLATION stage, for someone not yet considering change. He is well past this.
• B. Deferring the conversation squanders a window of readiness that may not still be open in six months.
• C. CORRECT. 'I am ready' places him in the PREPARATION stage — he has already decided. The intervention that matches this stage is to ASSIST: set a quit date, usually within two weeks, discuss pharmacotherapy, identify triggers, and arrange follow-up. Delivering information he has already acted on wastes the moment.
• D. Decisional balance is a CONTEMPLATION-stage technique for the ambivalent patient. He is no longer ambivalent.

Note: The 5 A's map onto the stages: ASK about tobacco use, ADVISE quitting clearly, ASSESS readiness, ASSIST the ready patient (quit date, pharmacotherapy, coping plan), ARRANGE follow-up, ideally within the first week after the quit date when relapse risk peaks.