A cross sectional study was conducted in the family medicine outpatient clinics in Kasr el Ainy to identify the characteristics of the smokers to aid in formulating a smoking cessation program. 200 smokers were included with ages ranging from 16 – 79 years from August 2010 to January 2011. They were asked for informed verbal and written consents to complete 3 questionnaires which were: Fagerstrom questionnaire, Horn questionnaire and a questionnaire developed by the researcher to determine the smokers' various characteristics. Results showed that the majority were below 18 years (59%) when they started smoking. Most participants smoked more than one packet per day (24 cigarettes) which cost them about 194.74 L.E per month. The most common cause for starting smoking was peer pressure (68%). Smoking motives assessed by Horn questionnaire found that craving was the main motive (93.5%).It was found that (59.5%) were highly dependent on nicotine as assessed by Fagerstrom questionnaire. 147 participants tried to quit mainly due to suffering from health problems (44.9%) and most participants quit because they were self motivated (97.96%). The main reason they relapsed was to cope with stress (35.37%). 24.5% of smokers did not know of the availability of smoking cessation methods.