Objective: To describe the reasons smokers give for seeking smoking cessation treatment, correlating those reasons with sociodemographic characteristics, clinical data, stage of readiness to change, and severity of nicotine dependence. Methods: Between February of 2008 and February of 2009, we evaluated 53 smokers who were naive to smoking cessation treatment and sought such treatment at the psychoactive substance abuse outpatient clinic of a university general hospital. The instruments used in the study were as follows: a form for the collection of sociodemographic and clinical data; the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence; the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment scale; and a questionnaire on the smoking habit. Results: The sample comprised 34 women and 19 men, with a mean age of 48.1 years. Most of the participants had less than 8 years of schooling, had tobacco-related diseases, started smoking during adolescence, had smoked for more than 20 years, and had high nicotine dependence. The decision to quit smoking was mainly influenced by advice from family members, and the decision to seek specialized smoking cessation treatment was influenced by physicians. Most of the men were in the contemplation stage of change, whereas the women tended to have a more balanced distribution of the stages (p = 0.007). The women had attempted to quit smoking more often than had the men (p = 0.017) and also had a higher level of nicotine dependence (p = 0.053). Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the role of health professionals in the approach to smoking cessation and suggest the importance of interventions that are more targeted, in view of the differences between men and women. ResumoObjetivo: Descrever os fatores motivacionais apontados pelos tabagistas para a busca de tratamento para cessação do tabagismo e relacioná-los com dados sociodemográficos e clínicos, estágio de prontidão para mudança e gravidade da dependência da nicotina. Métodos: Foram avaliados 53 tabagistas entre fevereiro de 2008 e fevereiro de 2009, que compareceram pela primeira vez a um ambulatório de substâncias psicoativas de um hospital geral universitário em busca de tratamento para parar de fumar. Os instrumentos utilizados foram uma ficha para coleta de dados sociodemográficos e clínicos; Teste de Fagerström para Dependência de Nicotina; escala University of Rhode Island Change Assessment e um questionário com perguntas relacionadas ao hábito tabágico. Resultados: Foram avaliados 34 mulheres e 19 homens, com idade média de 48,1 anos. A maioria apresentava nível de escolaridade fundamental, era portador de doenças tabaco-relacionadas, começara a fumar na adolescência, tinha mais de 20 anos de tabagismo e dependência elevada. A decisão de parar de fumar foi principalmente influenciada por incentivo familiar, assim como a procura e encaminhamento para o tratamento foi influenciado por médicos. A maioria dos homens estava no estágio de contemplação, enquanto as mulheres tenderam a ter uma distribuição mais equitativa n...